ROCHESTER, Mich. ââ'¬" Oakland University Athletics will continue to keep gameday experience for its fans in the forefront and will add LED lights and HD sound in renovations to the Athletics Center O'rena. The lights will allow Oakland to meet NCAA Broadcast Level C standards, more than doubling current light levels on the court.

"This project is very exciting because we are able to enhance both lights and sound that will give our student-athletes and fans a first-class experience inside the O'rena," said Director of Athletics Jeff Konya. "With the addition of the new 'blacktop' court, LED lights and sound, we are confident that our gameday experience will continue to be one of the top atmospheres in mid-major basketball."

Oakland University hired Musco to install the new lighting system. With 40 years experience, Musco engineers understand sports lighting and broadcast requirements to provide a good design with minimal shadowing and smooth uniformities from all angles.

"The new LED lighting provides a great deal of flexibility in creating various levels of light throughout the O'rena," said Oakland University Assistant Vice President for Classroom Support and Instructional Technical Services George Preisinger. "Each grouping of three light fixtures can be programmed at various brightness levels and can be changed whenever desired. Another great thing about the LED fixtures is that they have an immediate on and off capability that will allow the events staff the ability to create dramatic lighting effects for pregame introductions and special presentations."

Along with the new LED lights, Golden Grizzly fans will hear a new experience with HD sound. Oakland will use Sound Planning to boost the O'rena sound system that will strengthen public address and video board presentations.

"In addition to the lighting, the sound system is being enhanced with high fidelity speaker arrays," said Preisinger. "The original speakers by themselves lacked the ability to provide good spoken word intelligibility. The addition of higher quality speaker arrays will make it much easier to understand what is being amplified through the speakers via microphones and pre-recorded media. The returning fans will notice the day and night difference when they come to their first home game of the upcoming season."

The installation of both lights and sound will commence in July and August, and will be ready for the opening volleyball tournament, Sept. 17-19.

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