Industry News

Philips Lighting partners with Japanese football club Cerezo Osaka

Philips Lighting has partnered with Cerezo Osaka, a club in the top division of Japan’s Professional Football League, the J1 League.

The lighting company has planned to install its first ‘Philips AreanVision LED’ pitch system in Japan at Cerezo Osaka’s training facility. It will also provide design consultancy services and advanced LED light technology for the club’s stadium and practice pitches.

The technology is made to be more energy efficient than conventional pitch lighting and is set to reduce maintenance costs due to the lamps’ longer lifetime of up to 50,000 hours.

The stadium pitch lighting system will be designed to meet the latest standards of TV broadcasters and sports federations that require high-quality lighting for ultra-high-definition television and to capture super slow motion action replays.

Cerezo Osaka will join the J1 League for the first time in three years this season.

Philips Lighting is currently responsible for the pitch illumination for more than 65 per cent of stadiums used in major international sports events. Seventy per cent of English Premier League clubs use Philips’ services.

“This partnership brings us the expertise and technology of the world’s premier lighting company. Switching to LED technology will help us to promote energy savings and will give our supporters an enhanced stadium experience on a par with top European clubs,” said the president of Cerezo Osaka, Minoru Tamada.

“We may also explore opportunities beyond pitch lighting, such as the lighting of retail and hospitality areas and façade lighting. Crucial to this agreement was to select a partner capable of offering a complete stadium experience.”

President of Philips Lighting in Japan Kengo Hayashida, added: “This partnership brings together two great sporting brands. More than 65 percent of the world’s top stadiums use our innovative lighting technology and our latest LED pitch lighting is delighting the fans of top-tier clubs such as Ajax, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea FC, VfL Wolfsburg and Juventus to name but a few. Our partnership with Cerezo will enable us to add considerable value to the club, its supporters and market this amazing opportunity across the region.”