The Evolution of sports lighting in South Africa By Maritz Electrical

THE EVOLUTION OF SPORTS LIGHTING IN SOUTH AFRICA

By Maritz Electrical

With the focus on reducing our reliance on natural resources, accompanied by a demand for improved lighting for high definition television cameras and enhanced spectator experiences, sports field lighting has evolved significantly over the past decade.

Maritz Electrical is at the forefront of a sports field lighting revolution having installed a number of industry firsts. With St. George’s Cricket Ground, Coetzenburg Athletics field and the Western Province Cricket Club’s main hockey field being three of the first fields of their kind to boast new Musco LED lighting systems, South Africa’s sport is firmly in the spotlight.

St. George’s Park cricket ground

The arrival of international Super League T20 Cricket in South Africa saw St. George’s Park Cricket revamping its stadium lighting, becoming the first LED-lit cricket stadium in the world using the Musco system, which included a theatrical lighting component.

Maritz Electrical’s new CEO, Franco Botha adds that one of the stand-out features of the St. George’s Park lighting installation is the DMX controls solution that allows for individual light control and remote monitoring of the

entire system to ensure its operational integrity. The DMX system creates fan engagement opportunities that were not possible with metal halide technology, with the ability to link multiple media platforms such as audio, scoreboards and LED ribbon displays. DMX allows for the creation of bespoke choreographed light and music shows as well as special effects that are triggered when a boundary is hit or a wicket falls, thus adding to the overall atmosphere and excitement of the event.

Musco TLC for LED solutions are currently used at stadiums across the globe, including Wembley Stadium, The San Siro, Twickenham, Somerset Cricket Ground and 14 Premier League Stadiums including Arsenal and Tottenham. The system offers significantly reduced maintenance and energy costs and an industry leading lighting performance guarantee of up to 10 years.

The new system meets the ICC and CSA specified lighting level of 2500 lux (vertical) on the wicket and 1800 lux (vertical) in the outfield. Vertical lighting levels needed are specified for televised matches and especially for high definition television cameras.

These levels are higher due to the small ball travelling at high speeds and super slow-motion television cameras used to show run-outs and close-ups requiring higher lighting levels that also complements theatrics associated with super league cricket.

Coetzenburg athletics stadium

When it comes to athletics in South Africa, few of us dispute that Coetzenburg is a preferred stadium for athletes around the world, for off-season training and to compete as well.

Maritz Electrical installed an LED Musco lighting system, as part of the stadiums upgrade, bringing a new dimension to stadium lighting at Coetzenburg, Stellenbosch University, and the first of its kind at an athletics stadium in South Africa.

Installation of the masts takes precise planning from an advanced Musco computerised set-up to ensure that, once installed, all areas of the track and field are sufficiently lit to the required lux levels. The demand from athletes and broadcasters for cutting-edge tracks has resulted in stadium upgrades that include lighting at lux levels for high definition broadcasting, and to enhance spectator experience and athlete performance.

along the main grandstand roof, each positioned precisely to produce lux levels suitable for HD cameras.

Coetzenburg’s system offers sufficient lux levels

• Lux levels: 850lx on the track, and 500lx on the field, sufficient for HD television cameras. • 128 Musco fixtures installed around the track; 107 Musco TLC LED 1150 (1150w) installed on five masts and 21 Musco TLC LED 600 (580w) roof mounts on grandstand. • Three masts accommodate Vodacom, MTN and Cell C antennae and equipment. • The system, controlled by Musco’s multi-watt function, allows for lighting to be dimmed or set to three different power levels – 30%, 50% and 100%. • A 10-year warrantee on the lights, vastly reducing maintenance costs.

Western province cricket club’s hockey field

Following on the heels of St. George’s Park and Coetzenburg is WPCC’s hockey field, another first for SA; the first sporting club with a state-of-theart International Hockey Federation (FIH) standard LED lighting system bringing international standards to hockey at club level.

The installation at WPPC hockey field includes 24 TLC LED 1200-1230w to 5700k fixtures, installed on existing poles, giving an average lux level of 500lux from an eight-pole system.

LED is now a world standard across all sporting codes. The benefits are key drivers, the most important being a considerable reduction in energy demand, on top of flexibility that LED offers. Instant on and off features, together with various dimming settings, and if needed, theatrical options, allow for myriad options.

Botha concludes: “It is exciting to see sports fields taking the step to enhance experiences for players and spectators. With lighting offering international standards, and placing less reliance on our energy resources, LED is a preferred choice for clubs across the world.”

On top of these installations, Maritz Electrical has installed similar lighting systems at numerous community fields across the Western Cape bringing the benefits of LED and other lighting systems to community sports fields.

Think you know which one is LED?

They both are. This just shows the vast disparity in how different LED sports lighting performs. That’s Musco on your left.

Our Total Light Control—TLC for LED® system directs more light onto the field and features patented technology that minimises glare and light spill in ways others simply can’t. This keeps players, fans, neighbours, and the night sky happy. And you won’t pay maintenance costs for a decade or more.

Learn more about the superior light control of Musco’s LED solutions at musco.com/total-light-control

“We at Ashton have on three occasions used Musco for installation of floodlights and have been extremely impressed by the professional approach by their installation team. We have had zero comeback on their product and on the odd occasion of one of the lights defaulting they have assisted immediately with replacing. We highly recommend them on their service and the product.”