Perth Optus Stadium

In 2012, the Government of Western Australia set the ambitious goal of building a new Stadium for Perth that would rival those in Australia’s key sporting cities, Melbourne and Sydney. The vision was to create a multipurpose facility that delivered a unique experience for fans and the wider Perth community.

“The trend in world sport is that people are tending to stay in their living rooms, so we had to encourage people to get out of their house and come and watch live sport. We wanted to create a unique experience that you cannot get on television.” - Ronnie Hurst, Project Director, Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.

As a very significant project for the Government, it was critical the stadium project team delivered a completely integrated solution, that allowed for use 365 days a year. In addition, the stadium needed to employ cutting edge technologies to deliver on the “fan-first” experience that would attract both domestic and international sports and entertainment fans.

To achieve the ambitious goals of the government, the lighting design team pushed the boundaries of lighting integration, creating a bespoke solution, while managing everything from lighting design to installation, documentation, and commissioning in collaboration with key project partners.

A key challenge for the project team was keeping pace with technological advancements as the stadium was built over five years. This meant working in very close partnership to assess designs and plans at every stage throughout the project to ensure that on completion, Optus Stadium had the most sophisticated technologies to deliver on the vision of the Government of Western Australia.

Central to the stadium’s aesthetic is the façade and roof lighting, which incorporates a fully controllable LED solution featuring 650 ColorReach and ColorReach Compact Powercore RGBW luminaires (both now specified with ReachElite), to create a stunning visual impact. The façade has been fitted with 1.4 km of iColor Accent Compact luminaires to create a dynamic and unique aesthetic. The entire stadium can be lit in team colors on game day to add to the fan experience.

More than five years in the making, Optus Stadium is the largest LED sports lighting installation in the world, featuring more than 22,000 LED fittings. Completely multi-functional, the stadium is able to not only host a range of international sports including AFL, Rugby Union, Rugby League, Soccer, Soccer FIFA 5, Cricket and Athletics, but also events including music concerts, galas and conferences. The Stadium meets the stringent TV broadcast requirements for each of the sports.

“The community has been absolutely blown away by what a fantastic facility has actually been created here in Perth. And the ability to light up the stadium with your team colors on a game day is magnificent.” - Ronnie Hurst, Project Director, Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries

“It was really great working with the Signify design team because they knew exactly what they were trying to achieve with the LED systems. Working with their creative side, we were able to leverage their capabilities to realize the architectural vision.” – Peter Dean, Principal Architect, Hassell

The multi-functional nature of the stadium and its facilities demanded flexibility from the lighting systems, which needed to meet a number of criteria. Beyond the pitch, the lighting for every facility throughout the stadium and wider precinct has been thoroughly planned and designed to enhance the safety and architectural vision and meet the strict code requirements and brief.