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Elation lighting systems integrate with audiovisual systems at modern sports venues

From historic arenas to next generation builds, lighting in North American sports venues is undergoing a shift. Recent upgrades at some of the country’s most prestigious arenas - Intuit Dome, Crypto.com Arena, American Airlines Center, and United Center - highlight a broader trend: venues are rethinking not just how they illuminate the game, but how lighting shapes the entire live experience.

While each installation is unique, a clear pattern has emerged: venues are not simply upgrading in-game and house lighting - they are investing in flexible, future-ready systems that entertain and elevate fan engagement, aligning with what fans expect from a live sports experience.

For some time now, the role of lighting in arenas has grown beyond simple illumination. Today, it is evolving further into a core storytelling tool, integrating with video, audio, and architectural elements to create a cohesive, immersive, and engaging environment. Elation has steadily built momentum in the arena sector.

At Intuit Dome, one of the most technologically advanced arenas in the world, the lighting system - provided by sales and integration firm JRLX, Inc - was conceived as part of a wider technological ecosystem to work in harmony with video, audio, and interactive elements. 

Rather than relying on traditional “lights out” moments, the design supports a continuous visual narrative, integrating with the venue’s circular Halo LED scoreboard and seat-based fan-engagement features for a more theatrical experience.

A new Elation lighting system - featuring beam, color, and texture effects from Proteus, Pulse and Fuze fixtures - has transformed the arena into a fully immersive, multi-sensory environment, driven by the vision of Robert Sanders, lighting designer for the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team.

“We’ve built a system that can deliver energy and emotion every night”, he says. “We take you on a journey and give you an immersive light show experience so fans don’t just watch a Clippers game; they’re part of the experience.” The effect is less about isolated cues and more about sustained atmosphere that keeps fans engaged from the moment they enter the arena until they exit.    

A similar philosophy underpins upgrades at Crypto.com Arena, home to the LA Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, and LA Sparks, where lighting plays a key role in reinforcing team identity and energizing the building during pivotal moments. 

For LA Kings games, Proteus Radius beam fixtures, mounted in a circle around the rink, create a cage-like effect around the ice during player intros, goal celebrations, and key game moments. This signature look, unique to the Kings, along with the broader lighting design, has become an essential element in reinforcing the team’s brand identity throughout a game.

Lighting systems installed at the United Center and American Airlines Center prioritize brightness, as well as consistency, to ensure even coverage across large playing surfaces and eliminating the hotspots or falloff associated with older technologies. This ability to “cut through” at long throws is critical in today’s arena environment, where lighting must function alongside LED scoreboards, ribbon displays, and high-definition broadcast workflows.

American Airlines Center, home to the NHL’s Dallas Stars and NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, replaced its aging discharge lights with Elation Paragon LED profile moving heads. “The new Pragons deliver a more even output from center to edge”, says Robin Crouch of integration company Gemini Light, Sound & Video.

At the United Center, home to the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, Proteus Brutus LED Wash FX fixtures - part of a lighting system also provided by JRLX - deliver the ability to texture the ice or basketball court with widespread gobo coverage while maintaining strong output for special effects. “At the almost 300’ throw distances, the units can punch through the sports lighting for broadcast”, notes JRLX’s Jason Reberski.

Robert Sanders, who worked closely with JRLX on the Intuit Dome project, conducted shootouts with the court lights on so he could see what looks good with deep colors, textures, and patterns.

Equally important is control. The ability to shape light precisely - whether to frame a basketball court, isolate a player introduction, or avoid spill into spectator areas - has become a standard expectation. This reflects a broader move toward lighting rigs that behave more like theatrical systems, even within the scale of an arena.

With the continued growth of live sports broadcasting and streaming, lighting systems must meet stringent camera requirements. Consistency and flicker-free performance are essential for delivering a polished on-screen product.

At Intuit Dome, LD Robert Sanders can tune the lighting to broadcast standard. “Because we do a lot of presentation-style lighting, I need to illuminate the court like a stage and ensure it looks great on camera”, he says. “Skin tones, makeup, costumes, outfits - everything has to look perfect for broadcast.”

Meanwhile, Crypto.com Arena’s system includes custom solutions to reduce glare while maintaining performance, another example of the level of detail now required in modern arena design.

While creative capability is critical, practical considerations are another major factor driving adoption. Arena lighting systems are often installed in hard-to-reach locations, from overhead catwalks to integrated scoreboard structures, where maintenance access is limited and costly. The transition away from lamp-based sources to LED and advanced light engines has therefore become a key driver in specification decisions.

This was a clear factor in projects such as Crypto.com Arena, where long-term operational efficiency was prioritized alongside performance. At Intuit Dome, where fixtures mounted on the Halo LED display have limited access, reliability was a non-negotiable requirement.

Ingress protection, traditionally associated with outdoor use, is also becoming more relevant indoors. In fact, these latest installations all incorporate IP-rated fixtures. Dust, debris, and the general wear of multi-event venues can impact fixture longevity, and sealed units offer a level of resilience that aligns with the realities of arena operation, particularly in today’s multi-purpose arenas that host concerts and a wide range of events year-round.

Pictured: Crypto.com Arena, Intuit Dome, and United Center. (Photos: Elation)

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