“The tradition of the NFL Kickoff started in Times Square in 2001 as a pre-game public event tying entertainment and sports together,” said the show’s LD, Spike Lloyd from PEDG. “This year, the concert in Green Bay featured Kid Rock, Maroon 5 and Lady Antebellum. It started at 3 p.m. and went until 6:30.”
Lloyd used 36 Clay Paky Sharpy moving heads, which PEDG had acquired via Atomic Lighting, Lititz, PA. “We used them at the back of the stage as floor lights, very tightly packed,” Lloyd said. The fixtures were also directed upstage of the band on a scenic piece shaped like a skateboard ramp tucked under the stage’s arched roof.
“We also hung a dozen off the stadium behind the stage,” Lloyd added, noting that they were positioned about 400 feet away, where they bordered a series of four large video screens hung from the stadium’s open staircase.
Spike and his gaffer Dave Hunkins, who served as lighting czar on the NFL Kickoff, were introduced to Sharpy by Atomic Lighting. Both credited the fixtures for an “impressive” output — even with the event’s daytime schedule.
