SYRACUSE — Ephesus Lighting, Inc. of Syracuse today announced it installed a new LED (light-emitting diode) lighting system at the Thomas M. Ryan Center in Kingston, R.I., where the University of Rhode Island’s men’s and women’s basketball teams play their games.
The Ryan Center is “one of the first” major college-basketball arenas in the country to have the Ephesus system installed, the company said in a news release.
James Cordeiro, director of facilities at the Ryan Center, and Michael Lorenz, CEO of Ephesus Lighting, Inc. made the announcement.
The new Ephesus LED lighting system replaces a metal-halide lighting system that crews installed when building the Ryan Center in 2002, according to Ephesus.
The new LED system, which exceeds all NCAA Division I basketball lighting standards, is projected to reduce power consumption at the Ryan Center by over 70 percent and provide “significant” savings in energy and maintenance costs over the next 10 years, the company contends.
The lighting system will also improve the brightness on the court by more than 50 percent, according to Ephesus.
LED is the “natural evolution” of arena and stadium lighting, providing an “optimal stage” for events, players, and fans, Lorenz said in the news release.
“LED makes sense for the owner who wants the payoff from a long-term investment; the facility operator who wants flexibility and reduced maintenance and operating expenses; and the team who want reliability and the optimal venue for their fans,” Lorenz explained.
Ephesus also installed a similar system at the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena last year, making it the first U.S. sports venue to light its playing surface with LED lights, the company said.
The venue is home to the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL).
In addition to the Ryan Center and War Memorial Arena, four additional arenas with AHL teams switched to the Ephesus LED lighting systems for the 2013-14 season.
They include the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena & The Forum Theater, home of the Binghamton Senators; Webster Bank Area in Bridgeport, Conn., where the Bridgeport Sound Tigers play their games; the BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford, Ill., home ice for the Rockford Ice Hogs; and the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ont., home of the Toronto Marlies, according to Ephesus.
Ephesus Lighting, which is headquartered at the Syracuse Technology Garden, designs LED lighting products to meet the “challenging” environments of the industrial and sporting industries, according to the company news release.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com