Guide to Obtaining the Best Sport and Stadium Lighting
Choosing the right lighting for sports is important for many people, including stadium owners, architects, school owners, and project managers. High quality and proper lighting play a significant role in sports.
This article will cover important factors to consider when choosing lighting for indoor and outdoor multi-purpose fields. It will also give helpful tips to help you make the right choice.
What is sports lighting?
Sports lighting refers to specialized lighting systems designed specifically for sports facilities, arenas, and stadiums. These lighting solutions ensure optimal visibility for athletes and spectators while adhering to strict safety and performance standards.
Importance of Proper Sport and Stadium Lighting
Good sports lighting can improve athletes’ performance and give spectators a better view. It can also help stadium owners and managers save energy and lower costs in the long run.
However, it is not just the amount of light that matters but also the quality of the lighting. Several factors measure this, including uniformity ratio, gradient, and coefficient of variation.
Sports field lighting design ensures clear visibility of the play target, players, and surroundings. Horizontal and/or vertical light layers help acquire the needed visibility.
The safety of players and spectators is paramount when designing sports and stadium lighting. Maintaining adequate and uniform lighting levels across the field helps minimize shadows and prevent accidents. Areas with high ball impact, such as goalposts or basketball hoops, need special attention.
Investing in good sports lighting is a wise choice for those who manage sports facilities.
What are the basic requirements for sports lighting?
Sports lighting must meet several requirements. These include uniform light distribution, minimal glare, appropriate color rendering, energy efficiency, and compliance with safety regulations.
Different sports and levels of competition may have specific lighting requirements based on guidelines provided by their respective governing bodies.
- Adherence to lighting standards and codes
When installing sports and stadium lighting, it is essential to adhere to local building, electrical codes and safety regulations. Compliance ensures the safe and efficient operation of the facility and minimizes potential legal issues.
- Lighting Uniformity
A uniformly lit sports field provides a comfortable and level playing environment, ensuring fair play and enhanced performance.
Lux levels for sports lighting vary depending on several factors. These include the type of sport, level of competition, location (indoor or outdoor), and TV broadcasting.
For example, professional indoor basketball courts may require around 750 lux. For casual soccer matches, outdoor stadiums may need to provide lighting levels ranging from 200 to 500 lux. Up to 2000 lux may be necessary for international competitions with video broadcasting.
Elements to Consider for Sports and Stadium Lighting
LED technology
LED lighting technology has become popular in recent years thanks to its energy efficiency, longer lifespan, and reduced maintenance costs. LED lighting has a much shorter warmup time than traditional light sources. Compared to HID, LED lighting only takes a few seconds to warm up instead of 20 minutes. It allows us to turn on and off the light frequently and create different schemes.
When choosing LED products, it is essential to consider factors such as color temperature, color rendering index (CRI), and glare control.
- Color Temperature
The most common color temperature for outdoor fields ranges between 5000K and 6500K. For indoor, it ranges from 4000K to 6500K.
- Color Rendering Index (CRI)
The color rendering index (CRI) is important for TV broadcasts. An adequate CRI guarantees accurate color reproduction of objects. High-color rendition can also help to create the most optimized broadcast experience.
- Glare Control
Glare can significantly affect the performance of athletes. This is particularly important for lighting around key areas such as the volleyball net or the basketball hoop.
No sports lighting design would be complete without considering these other essential factors:
- Flicker Free
Flicker can be distracting and uncomfortable, especially during fast-paced games. It is also more likely to occur in fixtures with higher power.
Broadcasting video equipment can detect it more accurately than the human eye, so it can be more prominent in sports field design.
- 3-dimensional Lighting
The use of 3-dimensional lighting allows players to easily and swiftly recognize each other.
You must avoid unwanted shadows for a perfect 3-dimensional view of the elements.
It also significantly affects the TV broadcasting quality. In Video broadcasting, we need to have a perfect three-dimensional view of the elements: players, ball, and field elements.
The players can easily detect the sports’ target – for example, the tennis ball. If you fail to have three-dimensional lighting, the player could fail to detect it.
Lighting design for players’ and spectators’ safety
The safety of players and spectators is essential when designing sports and stadium lighting. Usually, the minimum lighting levels for the players’ personal safety are between 5 and 50 lux (0.5 and 4.6 fc).
Security and emergency lighting systems are also important in many areas. Considering field maintenance, viewing sections, parking, entrances, and corridors is crucial.
Sports Lighting Luminaires
The type of light fixture plays a significant role in providing high-quality sports lighting.
Choosing the correct luminaire type is essential for professional and collegiate-level fields. The choice depends on the location and whether it is indoors or outdoors.
- Indoor stadiums
- Outdoor arenas
Indoor and outdoor sports facilities often serve as multi-purpose venues hosting various events, such as concerts and conferences.
A flexible lighting design system can cater to specific sports requirements and other non-sporting activities. Different lighting schemes/show scenarios offer players and spectators a good experience.
Interior design
Lighting design for sports fields should complement the overall interior design style of the facility. A well-designed lighting system can accentuate architectural features and create a visually appealing environment that boosts the spectator experience.
In conclusion
Lighting design is essential for safety and enjoyment in sports and other activities. It requires meeting specific quantitative and qualitative lighting levels for the playing target, players and surrounding areas.
Creating the right design can be difficult and require expert knowledge. However, the result is worth it for the advantages it offers athletes and fans.
Consider design, lighting and luminaires, control systems, and energy-saving solutions to achieve an ideal atmosphere.
Explore more about sports lighting on the IES website. You can consult the ANSI/IES RP-6-20 Sports Lighting recommendations for further information.
Do you need a hand for your sports lighting project?
Feel free to contact us or book a complimentary lighting consultation with us.
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