KNOXVILLE, TN – Kentucky Basketball’s preseason show, Big Blue Madness, turned to Bandit Lites to provide the most dynamic event possible for what they hoped would be a National Championship season.
More details from Bandit Lites (http:www.banditlites.com):
Kentucky Basketball Taps Bandit for Big Blue Madness
KNOXVILLE, TN – Kentucky basketball’s preseason show, Big Blue Madness, turned to Bandit Lites to provide the most dynamic event possible for what they hoped would be a National Championship season. The event is held every year at midnight on the first day of practice, selling out with 25,000 fans strong. The coaches, players, fans and celebrities pack Rupp Arena for a three-hour show. The event has gained such stature that it is shown live on ESPN. Because of the NBA strike, the house was full of former Wildcat NBA stars.
The evening felt electric as the arena was bathed in Kentucky Blue all night while the crowd was entertained by speeches from Coach John Calapari, player introductions, cheerleaders, dance teams, celebrities and finally, an inter squad scrimmage.
Bob Stoops, Technical Services Manager of Rupp Arena and David “Hud” Haney of SGSP/ ShowRig called the shots for the event. LD Aaron Swetland designed a ShowRig truss structure with hundreds of MAC 2000 Profiles, MAC 2000 Washes, Coemar LED Pars and other fixtures. The console of choice was a grandMA.
The Oct 14-15 event continued on the next day with evening with the Boston Pops Orchestra. LD Pamela Smith and Technical Director H. Russ Costa took control of the system, reconfigured things, and produced a different for a different crowd. In addition to the existing fixtures, the Pops added some VL 1000s, Source Fours and Source Four PARs. The Pops played along with the University of Kentucky Symphony, the UK Choir and the Lexington Singers Children Choir, comprising 450 performers on stage.
The event was held in dual celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Keenland Horse Park and in celebration of the University of Kentucky’s youth outreach program.
The evening took on an elegant style, with dining tables gracing the floor and appropriate mood lighting for the carpeted, draped and silver serviced event.
Bandit Lites thanks Bob Stoops and Dave “Hud” Haney for making it all possible.
