OSKALOOSA, IOWA–Several Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations have had busy off seasons transitioning their stadium lighting to state-of-the-art LED systems, which will significantly enhance the experience for fans, greatly improve on-field visibility for players and umpires, and conserve energy.
In the past year alone, the Kansas City Royals’ Kauffman Stadium, the Cincinnati Reds’ Great American Ball Park, and the Philadelphia Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park all have made the move to LED lighting heading into the 2018 season.
The use of LED lighting for stadiums and arenas has been steadily increasing in recent years. In the case of the Royals, Reds, and Phillies, each organization conducted extensive research into a wide range of options, comparing the performance of LED lighting from different manufacturers. They ultimately chose to partner with Iowa-based Musco Lighting, and have its Total Light Control—TLC for LED™ system installed.
“You’re going to see more professional and college venues make the move to LED, and when it’s applied right it can bring impressive possibilities,” said Jeff Rogers, Vice President of Musco. “We’ve been doing this for over 40 years, which I think gives us a big advantage when it comes to utilizing the LED light source. All of these organizations had very clear goals and were focused on transforming the stadium experience for players and fans. We worked closely with them to achieve that goal. When you see the stage these lights help create for night games at these stadiums it’s pretty special, and the fans will love it.”
Installation of the Royals’ new system turned heads this past December, when crews used a helicopter to lift the LED fixture assemblies into place at Kauffman Stadium. With the new LED lighting in place there, as well as at Great American Ball Park and Citizens Bank Park, the visibility of players and umpires will be greatly enhanced due to a much more uniform distribution of light throughout the field. Musco’s system also features patented glare control technology, which means the era of losing the ball in the lights is virtually gone.
Equally important, the new LED lighting will significantly enhance the experience for fans. Not only will they too be able to follow the action on the field better, but the system’s DMX integration allows individual fixtures to synchronize with music to create cutting-edge light shows. Fans watching on TV also will see a difference—the new systems were custom designed for each stadium’s unique field layout, utilizing multi-zone aiming to reduce harsh shadows and improve light uniformity for much better broadcast results.
These three latest stadiums follow other MLB venues that have transitioned to Musco’s LED lighting in just the past few years, including the San Diego Padres’ Petco Park, the Houston Astros’ Minute Maid Park, and the Baltimore Orioles’ Camden Yards. There, too, the stadium experience has been transformed for players and fans, while also reducing energy consumption by as much as 50 to 60 percent.
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