ETC Rigging Reno at the Carrier Dome

 

When Syracuse University decided to renovate the legendary Carrier Dome, one of the key components was a rigging system that would support their scoreboard. They wanted a scoreboard that would provide a “wow factor” for their fans and players. With four sides that are each 62.5 feet wide and 20 feet tall, and a six-foot ribbon board running around the bottom on the interior, the new scoreboard is not just impressive, it is the second-largest indoor center-hung system in the United States and the third-largest in North America.

ETC Rigging Carrier Dome

The team at the ETC Rigging Design Center took on the challenge of safely raising and lowering this enormous display, custom-designing two mechanically isolated, self-climbing hoists yielding a final total system lifting capacity of 160,000 lbs. The hoists are controlled via a custom dual-axis, electronically synchronized ETC Rigging control system to provide extreme accuracy in position control between the two hoists, ensuring that the scoreboard is level and well-balanced through its full travel distance.

ETC Rigging Carrier Dome

“This is definitely the most significant system we’ve installed to date.” – Dave Rossi from Hoist Sales and Service.

The size of this scoreboard and the sprawling lift line locations required ETC engineering to think outside of the box and propose a non-traditional hoist layout. In this case, the drums of the hoist are parallel to one another instead of the traditional layout where they share the same axis. This allows for a more efficient distribution of torque over that distance. Due to the new roof design, this entire system is suspended via a wire rope system terminated to the steel structure above, which is equally unique.

You can read more about ETC rigging products at etcconnect.com

The shocking impact of theatre on the environment

Previous article

Lighting Design for Theatre-in-the-round

Next article
Rachel Frederick
Rachel has worked with ETC since 2007. She takes advantage of the limited warm months in Wisconsin by participating in outdoor activities like camping, paddle boarding, kayaking, and riding waterslides. She has several gardens that she swears she’ll be able to keep up with someday. And she enjoys stretchy things like new socks, yoga, and taffy. She writes a lot, she reads a lot and she plays with her kids a lot.