AV Case Study: Adelaide Venue Management LED Projects
Adelaide Venue Management has been on an upgrade journey of its LED infrastructure. Preferred integration partner, The Ci Group, has gone all-in on Aurora Signage.
24 August 2026
When Adelaide Venue Management (AVM) needed to upgrade LED infrastructure across key venues, including Coopers Stadium, Adelaide Entertainment Centre and Adelaide Convention Centre, it turned to long-term partner The Ci Group. For multiple projects, Ci Group in turn relied heavily on Aurora LED products – an Australian manufacturer known for its engineering depth and willingness to deliver genuinely custom solutions.
Gayan Dias, National Strategic Relationships Manager – Hospitality & Enterprise at The Ci Group, has worked with AVM for over 13 years. “When we responded to the RFI, Adelaide Venue Management was already using Aurora for almost 15 years,” he explains. “The brief really demanded a customised approach – some of the screens needed to be cut to exact sizes to fill all the gaps.”
NO ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL
Matt Vawser, Managing Director of Aurora, has been in the LED industry for more than 22 years and is refreshingly candid about the market. “LED has become commoditised, and with that there’s a perception that it’s a one size fits all product – put an indoor screen in any location and get the same result. It’s not the case,” he says.
Different environments demand different approaches. “Artificial lighting, acoustics, sun-facing aspects, different temperatures, different air humidity levels – all influence how you should design the screen.” Aurora’s in-house engineering team uses SolidWorks to deliver fully customised turnkey solutions, including structural calculations that often reduce overall project costs.
At Coopers Stadium, this expertise proved decisive. Bar menuboards had restrictive ceiling heights. While competitors offered smaller screens, Aurora delivered units with a customised 470mm height to maximise content area. “Those are the advantages of involving Aurora as the LED manufacturer,” notes Dias. “They have the in-house capabilities to manufacture specific sizes.”
BUILT TOUGH, ENGINEERED RIGHT
Stadium and arena environments are unforgiving. Matt Vawser explains the attention to detail required: “If you turn the screen on at full brightness at 10,000 candela you’re going to end up with a lot of pressure from boot-up and failure points.” Aurora manages inrush current, uses appropriate breakers, designs custom cable pathways, and implements controlled power-up sequences to expel moisture gradually.
For outdoor and semi-exposed screens, Aurora developed its own LTP (Layer Transparent Protection) system with ruggedised aluminium modules. “The coating doesn’t degrade like others in an outdoor environment,” Vawser says. “When you turn it on years later, you can still see the quality of the picture. There’s no degradation like we could show you with almost any other glue-on-board type product.”
Trent Smith, Operations Manager SA/WA at The Ci Group, values the reliability this brings. “We can trust that Aurora know how to get the best out of its product. We don’t have to double-check all its work.”
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There’s this perception that LED is one size fits all… It’s really not the case
— Matt Vawser, Aurora
STRONG PARTNERSHIP DELIVERS
The relationship between Ci Group and Aurora goes back well over a decade and has been built on trust and technical collaboration. “We have a very good relationship with Aurora,” says Dias. “The Ci Group has the technical capabilities to install LED and Aurora has the technical capabilities too, so it becomes a joint venture project.”
This partnership was critical during tight timelines, including delivery ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. “We were able to achieve all the timelines. We delivered on time,” Dias confirms.
Content management was another area where Ci Group added value. The team is certified on the PADS 4 system used across AVM venues, enabling centralised, easy-to-use control. “The fact we are certified for PADS 4 proved important,” notes Dias.
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We can trust that Aurora know how to get the best out of their product
— Trent Smith, The Ci Group
PROVEN ACROSS VENUES
The collaboration has spanned multiple sites. At Coopers Stadium, Aurora supplied large perimeter screens, bar menuboards, entrance screens and main scoreboards (including full HD P6.6 outdoor units at 7000 nits). Similar custom approaches were applied at Adelaide Entertainment Centre and Adelaide Convention Centre.
Vawser is proud of the results: “We’ve always focused on delivering the right outcome as opposed to one size fits all.”
Trent Smith sums up the operational benefit: “From our perspective, we don’t have to rely on our own engineering resources as much. We can trust that Aurora knows how to get the best out of its product and that its there to deliver the best results for the client.”
The Ci Group: thecigroup.com.au
Aurora Signage: aurorasignage.com.au
RESPONSES