The newly renamed St. Pete Times Forum, a 15,000- to 20,000-seat multi-use venue and home of the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL team, has installed four Clay Paky 1,200W Stage Zoom moving-yoke lights as its primary lighting effects system. The Forum's purchase was made through Pat Dineen, rental manager for Stage Equipment and Lighting's Tampa Bay office, with installation completed in mid-October. The Clay Paky Stage Zoom 1200 system, positioned on a yoke truss over center ice, has already been used for a variety of sports events and music concerts, including a recent performance by Aerosmith.
"The Forum's people demoed every piece of equipment imaginable through us," explains Adam Vidauri, branch manager for Stage Equipment and Lighting's Tampa Bay office. "It was apparent Clay Paky simply outshined the competition." Head electrician and lighting designer at St. Pete Times Forum, Andy Lalewicz, added, "It truly is a very bright spotlight, and that's one of the reasons we chose the Clay Paky Stage Zoom 1200. I'm also astounded with the accuracy and punch of these fixtures--they really enhance the in-game experience."
In addition, Vidauri notes, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus utilized the venue over the summer, which afforded the Forum's staff opportunity to see other Clay Paky gear in action, as used by The Greatest Show On Earth. This further convinced them the Stage Zoom spot system was the right choice.
"It gives them a very flexible lighting system that can be used for every type of event they do," says Vidauri, "from sports to music and other performances. I'm not surprised they're contemplating more Clay Paky equipment purchases in the future."
Clay Paky is distributed exclusively in the US by Group One Ltd. which is also the exclusive US distributor for Blue Sky International, Celestion Professional Products, XTA Electronics, Milab Microphones, MC2 Audio Ltd., and Elektralite.