Tissot Arena - Biel, Switzerland

The Tissot Arena features four outdoor football fields for training purposes, three with artificial grass, and the football stadium with natural grass and 10,000 seats for spectators located adjacently. "A mall is situated directly below the stadium with the ice hockey centre and curling arena with six rinks next to it," explained Markus Elmer, Managing Director of TRILUX Switzerland. In addition to the twelve football fields the Tissot Arena also accommodates restaurants, bars, VIP zones and underground parking lots.

It is also the home stadium for EHC Biel. When the first NLA team takes up position on the ice the spectators can hardly stay seated, and fire shows and projections via four large beamers add to the excitement.

Lighting is controlled by the stadium operators via a tablet with hall lighting switched from 200 to 1,000 lux in four steps. "The touchpad displays the luminaires to the operator and he sees which ones are currently in operation," explained Markus Elmer.

In the curling hall the Aragon surface-mounted luminaires are dust-proof and protected against strong jets of water thanks to their IP66 protection rating. Or put another way, they're exceedingly robust.

An illuminance level complying with current standards was taken into account to ensure best possible image quality with high-resolution HDTV recordings, even for slow motion images.

The VIP bar and restaurant are shown in their best light thanks to 62 Polaron LED luminaires. The pendant luminaires with a timeless, purist design are suspended from dark ceilings in an industrial style.

The luminaires have a service life of 50,000 operating hours and are digitally dimmed via a DALI control unit. The VIPs can enjoy their Fondue Chinoise in the special atmosphere of the "Club 39" and have best views of the action on the ice at the same time.

Strict requirements are placed on lighting above the ice hockey surface and in the football stadium. "The UEFA and FIFA specify horizontal and vertical illuminance levels, which is why lighting design and the mandatory calculations were carried out by TRILUX," reported Markus Elmer.
This benefits not only spectators in the stadium – without standard-compliant lighting TV viewers could hardly follow the excitement taking place on the pitches and rinks either.