If your league or municipality happens to be involved with the construction of a new soccer complex or the lighting of a previously unlit field, field lighting can be a source of confusion for many, especially if the lighting contractor is not used to lighting soccer fields.
@anewgirl shared this very informative article on Twitter, which is part marketing speak and part information. But once you ignore the plugs for the design firm, there is a lot of useful information here to give you enough knowledge to at least ask informed questions.
While we’ve had a few of issues with our new complex, primarily because the engineers didn’t have much experience building an athletic complex, the lighting was top notch. Our 480 Volt system from Musco lights the fields very well and it has been reliable for years. But it cost a LOT of money. Extremely tall poles, computer aligned for proper coverage, next generation quiet ballasts, etc. So some clubs looking to get lighting may be limited to lower voltage fixtures on wooden poles, working directly with an electrician. We have fields like that too where you flip the lights on in a circuit breaker box with a lock on it. So be sure to get informed and understand what factors come into play when lighting up a soccer field. It can save you a lot of headaches later.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Thanks for the good info – I am looking to light a small 110 by 65 field and want to make it perfect.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Let us know how it goes. For a single field, I’d expect some heavy duty high-pressure lights like used to light parking lots and car dealer lots on normal wood poles would do the trick.
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:00 pm
I could write books on sports field lighting, but I come at it from a little different angle than most. As a photographer, I really notice the dark corners, the ends of a field that are heavily in the shadows. I’m not entirely sure the players notice, but I imagine it could be distracting.
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Yup. Our system has very good coverage because they laid it out via computer. Was neat – the light mounts had ultra precise angle markings on them and they were set on the ground. But they put in a few incandescent lights on the poles along with all the high pressure lights. The idea being if the power ‘blipped’, there would be minimal lighting at the complex while the main lights cooled and relit 10-15 minutes later. Excellent idea.
The problem? The incandescents light their own space like any of the other lights. But they’re on an auto timer and shut off 30 minutes after the main lights are turned on. So they leave dark corners. Don’t think the kids notice, but it is noticeable!