Originally opened in 2003, The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas undertook an extensive upgrade to its entertainment technology this year, with months of planning and only seven weeks to realize. Solotech, as a global leader in systems integration and live productions, was proud to use our expertise when the Entertainment division of Caesars Palace trusted us, to achieve their desired results in design, engineering, and installation while maintaining the iconic venue’s high standard of production excellence.
With Celine Dion—who played an astounding 1,110 shows as of June 2018—moving on, and the new slate of entertainers interested in playing The Colosseum requesting advanced production capabilities, an ambitious renovation plan was put into motion late last year. The project took many months of planning and had extremely demanding deadlines and quality standards. Encompassing a complete overhaul of the audio, video and lighting systems which needed to be accomplished in the downtime between headliners—a mere seven weeks!
The Colosseum’s new curved Daktronics 5.9mm LED video wall features 1,742 LED modules that covers approximately 4,688 square feet. At approximately 110’ wide by 43’ tall, the new LED video wall is 8K capable. The video system includes two disguise VX4 media servers, six Christie Boxer 20K DLP projectors, and a Christie Spyder X80 for LED wall processing. This flexible video system is the perfect backdrop for any superstar performer.
The state-of-the-art audio system for The Colosseum now consists of a Meyer Sound line array with 32 Lyon, 12 Leopard, 6 Lina speakers for mains, an amazing combo of 18 1100LFC and 14 900 LFC for low end rumble, and 30 UPM and UPQ for under balconies. The main P.A. uses the Meyer Galileo and Lake processors to fine tune the system to each act’s exacting standards.
For the entertainment lighting systems, Solotech provided the selection of Robe Lighting products chosen by the design team, which included the brand-new MegaPointe, the Tarrantula, and the T1 Profile fixtures. For lighting control, the MA Lighting grandMA3 full-size console and a grandMA3 light console proved the right choice. Solotech ensured that The Colosseum’s new lighting system would meet the demands of any performers.
When designing the infrastructure system, Solotech wanted it to remain as flexible as possible, to meet the demands of touring acts and the production requirements of the Caesars Entertainment division. Solotech provided a fiber backbone run to the stage, FOH, and lighting booth with tie lines back to the main system. It was designed and installed to be able to accept any signal at extremely low latency. They can distribute live IMAG to the projectors and PIP on the LED wall and be frame-for-frame accurate with the source material. In short, it is simply one of the best theatrical video presentation systems—and realized in just seven weeks.
The Colosseum at Caesars Palace renovation is a standout example of a Solotech project that balanced schedule, quality, and technology without compromise.
Key Equipment List
- 1,742 Daktronics 5.9mm LED Video Modules
- 6 Christie Boxer HD 30K Lumen Projectors
- 2 disguise VX4 Media Servers
- Christie Spyder X80 Video Processor
- Meyer Sound Galileo Processor
- 32 Meyer Sound Lyon Speakers
- 12 Meyer Sound Leopard Speakers
- 6 Meyer Sound Lina Speakers
- 30 Meyer Sound UPM and UPQ Speakers
- Robe Lighting MegaPointe Luminaires
- Robe Lighting Tarrantula Luminaires
- Robe Lighting T1 Profile Luminaires
- MA Lighting grandMA3 Full and light Consoles
Design Team:
- Francois Blais – Scéno Plus
- Simon Leonard – Scéno Plus
- Angela Brown – Quadrillion Design
- Dave Cerullo – Solotech
- Keith Wright – PSLV - Production Services of Las Vegas
Solotech Team:
- Dave Cerullo
- Kevin Roberts
- Ryan Marth
- Aaron Roberts
- Thomas Kachnik