14 DAY TRIAL // It was just days ago when environmental group Greenpeace picked on the football industry and accused it of having a negative impact on natural ecosystems and even public health.
While it may be true that certain brands that market football apparel use potentially dangerous chemicals in their production lines, it turns out that some of the folks involved with this industry do care about their ecological footprint.
Long story short, media reports say that German sports club FC Bayern Munich has recently announced plans to fit the over 71,000-seater Allianz Arena with some 380,000 energy saving LED lights.
Information shared with the public says that this green-oriented project is the result of a collaboration between the sports club and technology company Philips, Business Green informs.
The goal of this partnership is to make the wall of lights around the stadium's arena both a tad more environmentally-friendly and way more impressive than it currently is by making it possible for it to display animations in colored lighting.
On its website, Philips details that, once work on installing these 380,000 ultra-efficient LED lights is completed, Germany's Allianz Arena will be Europe's largest stadium capable of putting on LED lighting-based light shows.
“We will expand the palette from three to 16 million colors. There will be plenty of light scenarios possible with which the Allianz Arena will be able to create unique moods,” said Roger Karner with Philips said in a statement.
“The new lighting from Philips will allow visitors and TV viewers to feel the full emotion and dynamism of the match from their very first glance,” added Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on behalf of FC Bayern Munich.
Neither the sports club not technology company Philips has until now disclosed too much information concerning this collaboration. However, word has it that the new lighting system will help cut energy use by about 60% and reduce the Allianz Arena's yearly carbon emissions by 362 tonnes.
“In addition, the long-life of LEDs means less maintenance is required. The LED solution underlines the partners’ support for sustainability in sports and for the region as a whole,” technology company Philips wished to stress.
Interestingly enough, it appears that, under a three-year agreement with FC Bayern Munich, Philips is to become a sponsor for the Allianz Arena and also the official lighting partner for the sports club.
Commenting on this agreement, Executive Board member Andreas Jung said, “FC Bayern welcomes Philips, the global player for stadium lighting, to the team. Together we will play to win in the world’s most attractive arena.”