Caved-In Wisconsin Sports Dome Gets Lighting Upgrade After Storm
The Dells Dome at the Woodside Sports Complex in Wisconsin Dells, WI, is known for its versatility. Volleyball? Sure. Wrestling? Absolutely. Softball, basketball, gymnastics, archery? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Any time of year, from the deepest Wisconsin winters to the sun-drenched days of summer, the 90,000-square-foot facility is at your service.
In early April 2024, however, winter hit the Dome a little too hard. A major storm dumped more than a foot of heavy snow on the area, collapsing the inflated dome and throwing (very) cold water at the facility’s schedule. It was going to be a race to reopen.
Timeline
“We had a major wrestling event in June that we really wanted to be open for,” recalled Mickey Fadness, the complex’s director of operations. “That meant updating the pressure system and the sensors and all that software. And then the lighting came into question. 15-year-old equipment that wasn’t doing it for us anymore,” he said.
It was a good time to update. The old lighting — 25 poles of four 1000W metal halide bulbs each — had degraded over the years and gave off a drab glow that had received complaints from guests. “What better time to show off the new Dome and really brighten up the place up,” he said. But could it be done in time?
Products Used
“They had to get this thing back open,” recalled Rich Cordova, Field Account Manager for distributor Viking Electric Supply. “The company that was coming to repair and reinflate the Dome was going to be there within two weeks. They wanted to be able to have lighting right away.” After conducting a light study, Fadness and his staff worked with Cordova to decide on the right fixtures.
They decided on 750W LED sports lighters, two on a pole, spread throughout the arena—50 fixtures in total. Sports lights, however, aren’t the kind of fixture just sitting on a shelf. Cordova checked with at least two other brands, who told him an order of 50 high-wattage LED sports lights would require at least a 10-12 week lead time—too late for the Dome.
Keystone, on the other hand, told Cordova they could turn the order in two weeks. “Keystone had the best delivery option. The price was good, and it met the customer’s needs because it was a big rush,” said Cordova.
Challenge
There were other concerns. The Dells Dome has an unusual lighting setup. The lights are only about 16 feet off the ground, as the domed ceiling precludes the towers they might have in an open-air arena. Because of that, the light bounces off the roof as well as onto the surface.
Solution
To ensure proper visibility, Viking double-checked the output with Keystone’s lighting layout team, which quickly ran a study that showed where the lighting would be directed and demonstrated that the arena would have plenty of brightness for all its needs — even with fewer fixtures, Cordova observed.
“We got the layout back within two days. We needed that to give some reassurance to the owners that what we were going to provide was going to work because we basically went from four 1000-watt metal halides at each of these stanchions to two 750-watt Keystone sports lighters,” he said. “Then we solidified the lead time on the fixtures and placed the order. It really happened that fast.” Using fewer fixtures with reduced wattage outputs allowed the facility to save money.
Results
The fixtures arrived on a Friday and installation, handled by Dakota Electric of Marshfield, WI, began the next Monday. It went very smoothly, said Fadness. He said visitors have noticed an immediate improvement, starting with the wrestlers at the first event.
“It was pretty cool to see the wrestling coach and promoter walk in for the first time and see the lights on,” Fadness said. “They noticed it right away. Then you start seeing the wrestlers and the other coaches and schools come in and they’re kind of just going wow and looking around looking up at the ceiling. It was really something special to see, because that camp has been here for many years and they’d dealt with the lights previously. It was such a transformation.”
He notes another improvement: less maintenance. The old metal halide bulbs, which were in cans, would blow out or—worse—be smashed by errant line drives. (The cans weren’t much help, as stray volleyballs would get stuck.) The Keystone LED Sports Lights are protected by cages, but Fadness says it’s just a precaution: “They’re very strong lights and they can take it.”
Cordova has high praise for Keystone’s fast turnaround. “Keystone and your rep, Casey, made us look better because we were able to find a solution that met the timeline,” he said.
And Fadness? He’s got a Dells Dome that dazzles. “Every one of our visitors has been ecstatic that we’ve updated the lighting,” he said. “I’m very happy with the decision we made to go with you guys.”
More information about sports lighting from Keystone
