Southampton Set to Become First Club in Europe with LED Floodlighting

Southampton Football Club are ready to install LED floodlighting at St Mary’s ahead of the 2014-15 Premier League season.

St Mary’s will become the first stadium in Europe with LED floodlighting, unhealthy 64 years after their old ground, The Dell, made history as the first English ground to have permanent floodlights installed.

Delivered by Eastleigh-based lighting developers Vision Accendo, the new system will provide a higher quality of broadcast lighting as well as significantly reducing the amount of energy used when compared to traditional metal halide floodlights.

Ian Williams, Chief Technical Officer at Vision Accendo, added: “This is the start of a ground breaking partnership between Vision Accendo and Southampton Football Club.

“We too are delighted to be the first to meet the Premier League’s new lighting specification using our latest generation of LED lighting. LED lighting has many benefits but for us it sets the new benchmark in the lighting industry.

“The supporters of Southampton Football Club will see the new installed floodlighting positioned 360 degrees around the stadium, while television broadcasters and viewers will also see the benefits of our installation at St Mary’s in the coming season.”

Issues

Some issues that faced the installation process included the extra weight on the roof and the issue of “flicker,” something that occurs during slow motion footage.

Mark Humby, Stadium Facilities Manager at Southampton Football Club, said: “By using a top quality LED product we have all but removed this issue which can be seen on the majority of sporting footage that’s produced under floodlit conditions.

“We can now look forward to installing a superior innovative lighting solution that will enhance the viewing experience of both the fan in the stadium and the armchair supporter.”

Premier League regulations require that clubs’ floodlights have a flicker rate no higher than 6%, but testing on Saints’ new system has recorded a rate of just 0.2%.