The Swansea Arena is a brand-new £135m music and theatre venue, operated by Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG). Set to attract some of the world’s most famous music acts and much-loved theatre productions, the 3,500 capacity indoor arena will no doubt become a popular entertainment venue in the city.
The new arena is part of a large-scale development in the centre of Swansea, called Copr Bay. This will also offer new shops, restaurants, apartments and parkland. The area will be serviced by two new multi-storey car parks and a ground-breaking pedestrian bridge over Oystermouth Road. This is to improve connectivity between the city and the beach.
Swansea Arena will be home to 2,000m² of exhibition space. This will have the capacity to host 2,500 people, with dining capabilities for up to 750 guests.
The design and architecture of the building are revolutionary, firmly putting the arena at the forefront of modern and future-proofed leisure and entertainment venues. It’s stunning LED façade is particularly notable, making the venue instantly eye-catching and awe-inspiring.
To achieve this, 97,000 LumiNode Pixel LED’s, from leading LED specialist Tryka, have been used on the façade. The LumiNode Pixel LED is a full-colour, 16-bit, RGBW solution, guaranteeing smooth dimming and optimising colour output for the most vivid image and video playback. For the Swansea Arena, the LumiNode has been made-to-measure to suit the specific needs of the project, with pixel pitches ranging from 110mm through to 435mm, whilst the custom-moulded body is designed to suit a 30mm aperture for a panelised installation, allowing ease of installation as well as any future maintenance or system upgrades.
The luminaire is manufactured from an IP68 sealed, injection-moulded clear body, with sprung ears for direct panel mounting to a 30mm aperture. Pre-linked injection moulded cables link the LED nodes, available with custom LED pixel pitch, with a maximum of 128 pieces per string. Adding to its extensive list of features, the LumiNode Pixel LED offers an ultra-lightweight design and compact dimensions that ensure a discreet installation.
When partnered with Artnet DMX to SPI control protocol, LumiNode allows complete control for decorative and architectural lighting, and if required, full image and video playback effects. This makes it perfect for architectural, entertainment, advertorial applications, or more lighting effects.
For Swansea Arena, the bespoke LumiNode luminaire arrangement is powered by 12V Meanwell HLG power supplies and ARTNET control interfaces. They are housed in a custom-built, by Tryka, weatherproof enclosure. Other elements of the control system are from a leading control expert, Pharos. This includes the Pharos VLC 1000+ for the façade, and the Pharos LPC and RIO D for landscape controls.
The control system was programmed by Tryka. Ryan Rolph, Technical Sales Director of Tryka said: “Tryka has a wealth of experience within the leisure and entertainment industry, so it was exciting to add the Swansea Arena to our portfolio. The venue is ground-breaking, demonstrating what can be achieved with visionary architecture and design. It will be a visual spectacle within the redeveloped area of Swansea, and will undoubtedly become a destination in its own right.” ATG will be using its extensive network and programming expertise to create a diverse entertainment schedule including comedy, theatre, gaming and sport. The venue is expected to host 160 performances each year, for an estimated 230,000 visitors.
