ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The lights that shine on Michigan football will glow even brighter starting this fall.
Michigan Stadium will debut an upgraded LED system at the Big House that will allow for color-changing, music-synchronized light shows, in addition to other improvements, as The Michigan Insider first reported to its VIP subscribers last week.
The new setup is brighter and provides more uniform lighting in addition to being energy efficient, a person with knowledge of the project told The Michigan Insider. The color-changing capabilities are synchronized with the new scoreboards and sound system for immersive shows.
Musco Sports Lighting, which handled the similar upgrade at Comerica Park in Detroit earlier this year, is overseeing the project.
A helicopter began installing the light towers at the Big House on Monday morning.
The new lights are a separate project from the major initiative that replaces the Big House scoreboard as part of fan experience upgrades across U-M athletics facilities. That undertaking is budgeted at $41 million and includes:
$8 million to fund “production room upgrades” inside the Crisler Center. Those facilities serve multiple different athletic venues, including the Crisler Center itself, Michigan Stadium, Yost Ice Arena, field hockey, soccer, indoor track, baseball and softball. The production room is also where Michigan produces content for the Big Ten Network and its digital platforms.
$12 million to fund a replacement of the Michigan Stadium video boards in the north and south end zones.
An additional $4 million to fund “permanent safety additions for access” to the new video boards.
$5 million to be used to replace the audio system at Michigan Stadium. This includes the audio installations in the seating bowl and around the concourse.
The estimated cost of site work and design fees is $12 million.
Price and funding details for the light upgrades have not been disclosed by Michigan.
Michigan’s previous audiovisual infrastructure had “aging technology that’s become incredibly difficult to maintain,” Michigan Athletics senior associate athletic director and COO Rob Rademacher told the Board of Regents last March.
“I can’t begin to tell you the enhancement of a scoreboard … how much that enhances the fan experience. It will be like night and day,” Denise Ilitch, a Regent, said. “To me, this is an investment in our fans and our fan experience, and it is a reinvestment in our infrastructure.”
Added Jordan Acker: “The scoreboards are one part of a huge technology upgrade, replacing a 10 year old technical studio that serves many men's and women's sports and upgrading the facilities at both Crisler and Michigan Stadium.”
Michigan anticipates construction on the lights and scoreboards to be completed prior to the 2023 football season. That means Michigan fans shouldn't have to wait long to appreciate the new visuals: Sept. 16 against Bowling Green is a night game with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
The Big House first had permanent lights installed in 2010 and hosted its first-ever night game against Notre Dame in September 2011.