The Steaua Stadium is a new, multi-purpose stadium located in the Ghencea neighbourhood of Bucharest, Romania. With a 31,000 spectator capacity, it’s the home of CSA Steaua Bucuresti.
A replacement for the outdated stadium, the new venue was used by the North Macedonia team during preparations for UEFA Euro 2020, before being officially inaugurated in the summer of 2021 with a football match between Steaua and OFK Beograd.
Dynamic lighting is crucial to any stadium’s functionality and user experience. The contractor for the Steaua Stadium chose an LED lighting system from globally renowned manufacturer Philips Signify featuring 252 Arena Vision LED DMX and 152 Uni Flood RGBNW fixtures. The lighting control system comprises an LPC 1 (Lighting Playback Controller 1) and a TPC (Touch Panel Controller) from Pharos Architectural Controls. The LPC 1 offers 512 channels of DMX/eDMX, while the TPC offers 512 channels of eDMX for a total of two DMX universes of control, as required for the project. Featuring individually controllable and independently running timelines and scenes, the control system offers the ability to build dynamic, precise and fully bespoke pre-programmed lighting effects using the Pharos Designer 2 software. The system also provides the added benefit of real-time manual overrides.
The TPC is a sophisticated touchscreen lighting controller offering vast design potential with a fully integrated user interface and a single power-over-ethernet (PoE) network connection. As well as being a stand-alone controller in its own right, the TPC has a 4.3” fully customisable touch panel and can integrate with the broader range of Pharos Designer controllers and remote devices.
Commenting on the project, Mark de Gruyter, Regional Manager – EMEA at Pharos Architectural Controls said: “As a replacement to the outdated Steaua Stadium, the new stadium is an incredibly impressive venue. The attention to detail is evident, and the state-of-the-art lighting system ensures the stadium can be used all year round for a wide variety of sporting fixtures and other events.
“The control element from Pharos has allowed the venue to integrate dynamic and programmed lighting into its activity, offering a wealth of options when it comes to enhancing the experience for visitors.”
Power Electric SRL was the solutions provider for the project’s lighting requirements. Ciprian Viscopoleanu from Power Electric added: “As a Romanian company, we are always proud to work on nationally-acclaimed projects. The Steaua Stadium is an incredibly important venue in Bucharest, attracting thousands of national and international visitors. Our team’s expertise made it possible to integrate the architectural lighting design in such a manner that a variety of dynamic scenarios are possible, from projecting different colouring according to the playing team, to synchronizing lights and music with specific timing.
“Of course, working with global-leaders from across the lighting industry, such as Pharos and Signify, definitely made a difference and we are confident that the technology used in the Steaua Stadium project will deliver unrivalled results for a venue with such a significant role in Romanian culture.”
Steaua Stadium is now the largest sports complex in Romania, spread over 82,000 square metres. It will also house the CSA Steaua military museum and a hotel with 24 rooms. The media zone will meet all UEFA and FIFA requirements, making the stadium an attractive venue for national and international sporting events.
