WWF Wrestlemania and Bandit Lites Break Records

This year’s event was held at Toronto’s SkyDome in front of nearly 69,000 people live and millions via Pay-Per-View, setting several attendance records. The four-hour production featured title matches and live performances by Saliva and Drowning Pool. As long time lighting suppliers to the WWF, Bandit Lites and Production Designer Jason Robinson were called upon to make this year’s event bigger than anything the WWF had ever done before.

By the numbers the system included: 12 semi’s full of lighting gear, 4,000,000 watts of power at 11,000 amps per leg, 450 moving lights, 700 PAR´s, 216 motors, 204 pieces of 10 foot A-type truss, 5 custom A-type circles ranging from 42 feet in diameter to 15 feet in diameter, and 44 pieces of Pre-Rigged Truss. When using the circles in conjunction with the A-type truss, Robinson created five truncated circles ranging from 34 feet across to over 200 feet. These circles were broken and raked to complete a stunning tornado effect that loomed over the main ring. Another fascinating aspect of the design was the 100 Martin MAC 250s that lined either side of the entry ramp that created stunning effects on the wrestlers and the ramp alike. The entry stage, which was a sizeable system on its own, and was predominated by countless Martin MAC 2000’s, this gave stunning looks for each wrestler as well as for the bands which performed at different times during the show.

Thanks to efficient project management and prepping the equipment to Bandit Standard the load-in and out went flawlessly. “On projects this large our complete documentation and labeling systems save us countless hours on site which makes everyone involved in the production much happier,” says Bandit project manager Steve Powell. Bandit Lites is proud to work for the WWF 52 weeks a year and we can not wait to see what Jason Robinson and company have in store for next year’s event.

Crew:
Production/Lighting Designer: Jason Robinson
Production Manager: Steve Taylor
Stage Manager: James McKinney
Stage Manager: John Hoffman
Crew Chiefs: Chuck Hastings, Thomas Campbell, Mike Aldcroft
Board Op: Ben Hay

Technicians:
Dave Butzler 
Jeff Blevins 
Cliff Sharpling
Buddy Gonzalez
Dale Jewett
Tyler Greene
Chip Perry 
Eric Shafferman
Rick Monroe

Major Equipment
84 - Martin MAC 2000
240 - Maritn  MAC 600
100 - Martin MAC 250