CLEVELAND, OH — The 2009 US Figure Skating Championships were held January 18-25 at the Quicken Loans Arena. Held annually since 1914, it awards 12 national champions in ladies, men’s, pairs and ice dancing on the senior, junior and novice levels. The event was broadcast live all weekend on NBC, with the Ladies Singles events appearing in prime time on Saturday and Sunday nights. William Brennan, long time lighting designer for NBC Sports with credits from the Los Angeles, Atlanta, Sydney and Salt Lake City Olympics, and most recently hired to consult for the Vancouver Winter Olympics, used 50 Clay Paky 1500 Beams. The lights were specially fitted with frost for this facility and for broadcasting this event.
“The New Clay Paky 1500 watt beam is powerful, predictable, and versatile,” explains Brennan. “The fixture will very likely be the new solution for large scale lighting designs specified for special events broadcast special from stadiums and arenas.”
AG Light and Sound, a dealer for PRG Distribution North America, supplied the lighting package. Based out of Long Island, NY, AG Light and Sound provides sales and rentals of high performance lighting, video and audio. They have recently added weather proof bubbles to their inventory in anticipation of the Clay Paky Beam 1500 replacing large format outdoor searchlights. AG represents the full PRG Distribution product line; including Clay Paky, ChamSys, Spotlesslight, PowerQuick Personal Ascenders, RetroScent and Fog Factory.
“I was very impressed with the Clay Paky Beam 1500 and see many uses for this product in all areas. The Beam 1500 is going to change the way designers light large-scale productions. It is a welcome addition to the AG inventory,” commented Andrew Gumper, president of AG Light & Sound , Inc. “PRG Distribution went above and beyond to help us make our first show happen—it was under a week from when we purchased the units till they were hanging on their first show.”
For more information on PRG Distribution, please visit www.prgdistribution.com.
