Ferri Lights Up New ESPN ‘SportsCenter’ Studios

By James E. O'Neal
published

New York

Ferri Lighting Design & Associates (FLDA) has completed the installation of lighting systems at ESPN’s new "SportsCenter" studios in Bristol, Conn. and Los Angeles. The company was responsible for design and deployment of the lighting packages employing ESPN’s Sky Deck suspension grid system which provides access to most fixtures without the use of ladders. The systems also are almost completely LED-based, marking the first large-scale deployment of this lighting technology at the network.

"The ‘SportsCenter’ design is as much a showcase for power efficiency as it is an aesthetic achievement for ESPN, and we are delighted with the results, particularly given the significance of this installation," said Bruce Ferri, senior designer at FLDA. "I have seen several iterations of the ‘SportsCenter’ studio over the years, and this one marks a true milestone for LED lighting. We planned the simultaneous bicoastal ‘SportsCenter’ installations carefully, demonstrating the bandwidth that we have to provide the kind of intensive, high-touch support on which we pride ourselves."

The new ESPN Bristol studio is the network’s largest with an area of some 10,500 square feet. FLDA will also be handling the lighting system design and installation for ESPN’s NFL studio which is set to begin operations in August.

James E. O'Neal
James E. O'Neal

James E. O’Neal has more than 50 years of experience in the broadcast arena, serving for nearly 37 years as a television broadcast engineer and, following his retirement from that field in 2005, moving into journalism as technology editor for TV Technology for almost the next decade. He continues to provide content for this publication, as well as sister publication Radio World, and others.  He authored the chapter on HF shortwave radio for the 11th Edition of the NAB Engineering Handbook, and serves as editor-in-chief of the IEEE’s Broadcast Technology publication, and as associate editor of the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal. He is a SMPTE Life Fellow, and a Life Member of the IEEE and the SBE.