Managing the lighting at a sports stadium or arena is one of the most important facets of a venue Operations Manager’s job. 

Its performance has to be stellar. It represents a cost that is significant that needs to be minimized. And it is a major factor in a venue’s Greening (or not). LED lights, which, are both high-performing and energy efficient, initially faced a slow adoption curve in the industry due to high costs. But, as the cost curve is moving down, more venues are making the switch to LEDs.

For decades, sports stadiums and arenas have been illuminated by metal halide lights. 5-6X more energy efficient than incandescents, metal halides also give top quality white light, which is crucial for the illumination of night games outdoors and indoor events. Metal halides also contain mercury, which make them an environmental concern at end-of-life.

In the mid-late aughts, lighting technology moved forward with the advent of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights. LEDs are the clear environmental winners vs. metal halides: Comparable LEDs produce more 28 percent more light output than metal halides while consuming 54 percent less electricity.

At first, despite the obvious win-win on the environmental side, teams and sports facilities managers were slow to adapt LEDs because of concerns about light quality (it’s a softer type of light) and cost. Even über-green Levi’s Stadium, the new home of the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, CA went with metal halides because of the light quality issue. But that decision was made in 2012.

Technological advances on the lighting and broadcast sides (i.e. HDTV) since 2012 have flipped the concerns about light quality: LED lighting systems are now preferred vs. metal halide by venue and television alike. And the differences in cost have become negligible (in 2012, an LED system was eight percent more expensive than metal halides; by 2014, the LED premium has been wiped out). , And since LEDs 1) have a life span three times as long as metal halides, 2) require far less maintenance, and 3) consume far less energy, an LED system, over its lifetime, is now clearly less costly than metal halides. Game, set and match to LEDs!
So the trickle of LED-lit sports venues has now become a steady stream. Here are some noteworthy examples:

• Syracuse Crunch (Minor League Hockey): In 2012, Ephesus Lighting installed the first LED system in a North American sports venue at Syracuse’s War Memorial Arena, the 7,000 seat home of the American Hockey League’s Crunch. Built in 1951, War Memorial’s old metal halide system was experiencing high energy and maintenance costs, low lighting levels. The LED system reduced energy consumption by an astonishing 85 percent, saving the venue $40,000. Lighting quality and uniformity improved dramatically.

War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse, NY, home of the AHL’s Crunch and a new LED lighting system. (Photo credit: Ephesus Lighting)

• NHL: The NHL, which authored the first-ever sustainability report for any North American professional sports league, also has taken a leading role in the installation of LED lighting systems. PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC became the first US-based NHL arena to go LED this offseason.  Musco Lighting outfitted the home of the Carolina Hurricanes and also NC State basketball with a state-of-the-art system that is expected to reduce energy usage up to 70 percent! The Bell Centre in Montreal started the NHL’s LED-ball rolling back in 2012. Lighting quality and reliability were the drivers for the Canadiens’ decision more so than the environment. Regardless of the motivation, the decision has led to a dramatic reduction in energy usage.
• Staples Center: Los Angeles’ Staples Center, home of the NBA’s Clippers and Lakers, the WNBA’s Galaxy along with the Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings made the move to LEDs this summer. The system, developed by Solotech, using Lidium LED lights, will result in $280,000 in annual energy cost savings and a 70 percent reduction in energy usage.
• NFL: NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans and University of Phoenix Stadium, den of the NFC West leading Arizona Cardinals  and home of Super Bowl XLIX next February, both installed LEDs in advance of the 2014 season.  Texans President Jamey Rootes was quoted in a recent “Washington Post” Innovations blog post by Matt McFarland as saying that “The payback was quite attractive in terms of the energy savings, not just for our events but in all events that happen out here. You add to it the softer benefits of the quality of the presentation on television, the quality of the presentation for the fans in the stadium, a more vibrant stadium experience.”
• College Sports: LED lighting systems are making their presence felt at venues large (Ohio Stadium, the 106,000 seat, Zero-Waste home of the Buckeyes) and small (the 2,350 seat hockey arena at Union College in Schenectady, NY).  LED adoption will continue to grow on campus, given the aggressive move colleges and universities are making towards greening in all aspects of their operations, sports included.
• Barclay’s Premier League: The most popular sports league on the planet has just recently gotten into the LED act, with current league leader Chelsea and surprising 2nd place Southampton taking the first steps this summer.

The new, energy efficient LED lighting system at Stamford Bridge in West London, home of Chelsea of the Barclay’s Premier League. (Photo credit: Daily Mirror)

Where is Major League Baseball, you ask?

So far, no MLB ballparks have gone LED but that is just a matter of time. It says here that at least one MLB club will make the trade for LEDs before next season.

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