A guide to sports floodlighting

Sports lighting is used on a wide variety of leisure activities, from major stadia to club pitches, swimming pools to race tracks. Almost every sport now has a 'nocturnal' element and not having to rely on daylight opens up sports participation to a vastly increased number of people. Sport is no longer confined to weekends; floodlit evening events are a feature of most fixture lists now. But sports lighting has to cater for the needs of a whole host of people. The following topics are not exhaustive but may cover most of the common elements and will help you form a profile to clearly define the needs for your particular project.

Lighting for the players:

Players naturally come at the top of the list. Add to these the match officials; they all need good light to play the game. Light on the pitch is a basic but you must have light on vertical surfaces as well so that a total field of vision is provided. Lack of glare is vital so their vision is maintained, so direction of light intensity is critical.

For the spectators:

Spectators come to see the game, so lighting is a crucial need for them. They need to see without the strain of glare from floodlights and they will also need light to enable their safe entry and exit from the ground.

For TV audiences:

But spectators are not confined to the ground - big events are often televised so the lighting must enable cameras to see properly. Despite the massive advances in camera technology, the 'visual' needs of the camera are closely defined. TV audiences will mostly be shown a view across the pitch, looking at the 'vertical' surfaces - i.e. the players. So the vertical illuminance must be at an appropriate level. Most sporting bodies have laid down precise requirements and these are often based around the requirements specified by the television companies. So, at this point, we can summarise the lighting needs for players, officials, spectators at the game, plus the TV audiences; all need lighting to both quantity and quality standards. Mixed into this is the matter of colour. Sports lighting needs to show colours accurately, so the choice of floodlight must be allied to the choice of lamp to achieve the best result with all colours fairly represented.

Hot re-strike floodlights essential for safety:

Security and safety are required by legislation. The most obvious danger is a sudden loss of lighting; players and spectators alike are stranded in darkness and any attempt to evacuate the ground could result in fear-induced panic. Such a loss of light can be caused by total or momentary loss of power if only conventional floodlights are used. Even a prompt restoration of power will have no effect until the lamps have cooled to the point where their starting cycle can begin. Hot re-strike floodlights need to form at least part of the scheme to guard against prolonged darkness as they do not need to cool before re-starting. In any event, additional level maintenance lighting should be provided to seating areas and kept running during occupation times.

Avoiding spill:

Most sporting facilities have neighbours close by and a common complaint is of light spill and intrusive light. Modern floodlights have precisely defined distribution patterns which enable designers to avoid nuisance spillage of light. Local planning authorities will need to be satisfied their local nuisance will not be a feature of any sports lighting project.

So, the whole area of sports lighting is complex. Careful design and planning is needed to ensure all the participants have what they need. It is a specialist project and needs special expertise to achieve the best results. From the smallest local facility to the largest international arena, the help of an expert company is needed, both to meet the many technical requirements and to fully support all the people involved in the sport.

Thorn Lighting Group

Head Office

Elstree Way, Borehamwood,

Herts WD6 1HZ

Tel: 020 8905 1313

Fax: 020 8967 6347

Web: www.thornlighting.com