Soccer Field Lighting
LED Soccer Field Lighting
We carry a variety of top quality indoor and outdoor LED soccer field lights that are protected against water, dust, and harsh weather. These commercial quality lights provide bright illumination with high energy efficiency that’s dispersed with a specialized lens to avoid distracting athletes. Browse our selection of soccer field lights or get a free professional lighting plan from our sports lighting experts.
What is Soccer Field Lighting?
Soccer field lighting pertains to the dedicated illumination tailored for both indoor and outdoor soccer fields, guaranteeing optimal visibility, safety, and gameplay experience. The appropriate lighting configuration is pivotal for players to clearly perceive the ball, the field's boundaries, goals, and other players, regardless of whether it's a casual kickabout or a professional match. Adequate lighting amplifies the overall playing experience by reducing shadows and averting glare, which is particularly essential for accurate passes, dribbling, and goal shots.
What Kind of Lights Are Used for Soccer Field
The vast majority of soccer fields are outdoors. For these outdoor soccer fields, it’s necessary to use LED sports lights or LED flood lights with sufficient power to illuminate the area.
Even though indoor soccer fields are less common, they’re typically found inside recreational centers or used for practice during cold off season months. Large indoor stadiums can use similar lights that outdoor stadiums use; however, smaller indoor soccer fields should utilize UFO high bay lights or linear high bay lights.
Professional Soccer Field Lighting Design
Here’s an example of 13 850 watt LED sports lights per pole projecting 166,000 lumens. These were used to illuminate a college soccer field at an average of 30.2 footcandles.
Soccer Field Lighting Requirements
Soccer field lighting requirements can vary significantly based on several factors, including the level of play (recreational, semi-professional, professional), the location of the field (indoor or outdoor), and the governing body or association standards. However, there are general lighting standards that can be applied to ensure players, referees, and spectators have the visibility they need for an enjoyable and safe game. Here is a breakdown of typical soccer field lighting requirements:
Recreational or Training Fields:- Illuminance Level: 200-300 lx
- Uniformity Ratio: 0.5
- Purpose: Suitable for training, amateur matches, and recreational play where there is little to no spectator interest and no broadcasting.
- Illuminance Level: 300-500 lx
- Uniformity Ratio: 0.6
- Purpose: Suitable for club-level competitions where the audience consists of club members and local residents.
- Illuminance Level: 500-750 lx
- Uniformity Ratio: 0.7
- Purpose: Suitable for regional or semi-professional matches where the audience is larger and may include paying spectators.
- Illuminance Level: 750-1200 lx
- Uniformity Ratio: 0.8
- Purpose: Suitable for professional level matches with significant spectator attendance, but not for television broadcasting.
- Illuminance Level: 1200-1400 lx
- Uniformity Ratio: 0.8
- Purpose: Suitable for professional matches that will be broadcast on standard-definition television.
- Illuminance Level: 1400-2000 lx or more
- Uniformity Ratio: 0.8 or higher
- Purpose: Suitable for top-level professional matches that will be broadcast in high-definition. The higher lux level ensures that the playing surface appears bright and clear on HD television.
Soccer Field Lighting Information
Athletic competition is one of the most popular and culturally important activities in societies across the globe. Out of all the different sports commonly played, none is more popular than the game of soccer. This sport is played across all continents and cultures, and has a massive following. There are now multiple regulatory bodies for the game that are actively involved in not only producing a comprehensive set of rules and regulations, but also guidelines for soccer fields, stadiums and athletic facilities where these games take place.
One of the most important of these guidelines is for stadium lighting. Proper lighting for these venues is important to ensure proper visibility and safety for players, as well as an enjoyable viewing experience for spectators. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association or FIFA for short, has laid out a comprehensive list of lighting regulations for tournament stadiums and training sites. As the largest governing body for soccer (known as football in most other countries), FIFAs recommendations are considered the standard for all soccer stadiums and arenas throughout the world.
Soccer Field Lighting Layout Design
Designing a proper soccer field lighting system may seem simple, but in order to have optimal results there must be significant planning involved. Those who are looking to gain the most out of their investment in LED lighting usually utilize the services of a professional photometric planner to ensure the right wattage, quantity and placement of fixtures is chosen for the area that is to be illuminated.
Recognizing the importance of photometric planning for sports fields and stadiums, Commercialledlights.com offers comprehensive photometric planning services to our customers. We work with you to understand the specific details and characteristics of your application and formulate a plan that will ensure your soccer fields are illuminated in the most effective manner possible. Below is an example of a previous photometric plan our team has created for a client.
Popular Soccer Stadium Lights
There are a number of different types of fixtures that can be used for soccer arenas, depending on the specific areas to be lit. Generally speaking, the majority of the lights used for this application are flood lights, due to their high lumen output and broad beam patterns. This allows them to be mounted high above and provide comprehensive and uniform lighting to the entire area. Below are some of the most popular stadium lighting fixtures in our selection.
Yoke Mount Flood Lights - One of the most popular types of fixtures for soccer fields, yoke mounted flood lights are ideal for applications where flexibility in mounting and configuration is key. They come in a variety of different wattage ranges to suit different mounting heights and illumination requirements.
Trunnion Mount Flood Lights - The most adjustable option available for flood lights, trunnion mounts offer an excellent and relatively low profile mounting option for stadiums. With nearly 360° adjustability, they can be mounted on poles and any flat surface such as a vertical wall.
High Powered Flood Lights - These are the most powerful flood lights available for sports stadiums, and require customized mounting for proper installation. Ideal for larger stadiums, they provide a tremendous amount of lumen output over a wide area. They also can be mounted very high up while still providing serious illumination at the ground level.
Extruded Arm Mount - These are ideal for applications where appearance and a streamlined look is the most important concern. Extruded arm mounts are the sturdiest type of flood light available, thanks to its simple fixed angle design. These mounts also seal the wiring from moisture and potential foreign object damage.
Why Choose LEDs for Soccer Fields?
Soccer fields and sports stadiums have massive ground areas that must be illuminated, requiring a large number of lighting fixtures to accomplish the task. Because of this, maintenance and operational costs are significant. Any possible way in which this can be reduced or eliminated is ideal for reducing overall facility operating costs.
It is in this area that LED technology shines. Not only is it far more energy efficient than traditional lighting such as HIDs and metal halide bulbs, it also requires no regular maintenance during its rated service life. This saves a massive amount in operating costs, allowing stadiums to be more profitable and budgets to be better allocated to things such as field maintenance, facility upgrades, etc.
An additional benefit of LEDs not often considered for soccer stadiums is the improved quality of light they offer. Measured using the Color Rendering Index (CRI), the higher quality of light produced by LED fixtures results in better visibility and accuracy in illumination. This means that players and spectators alike will be able to better see the game as it's being played, and participant safety will be improved due to a lower risk of accidents caused by poor visibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do you light a soccer field?
Soccer fields typically have several areas that must be illuminated. The primary area is the field itself, which is typically illuminated using an arrangement of flood lights positioned in a manner that provides proper lumen output while maintaining optimal energy consumption. A proper photometric plan can help to ensure this arrangement is positioned properly.
Q. How much do soccer field lights cost?
There are various types and sizes of soccer field lighting, with a wide range of costs per unit. Generally speaking, the flood lights for soccer fields will start in the 100 watt range and are priced from around $150 on up to over $500 for the largest units. It should be noted that the quantity and lumen output of fixtures will vary depending on the specific application requirements.
Q. How do you turn on soccer field lights?
Soccer field and stadium lights can be turned on using manual or automatic means. Which option is chosen is entirely up to the end user, as certain fields that see continuous daily use may benefit from automatic switches such as dusk til dawn photocells. Others that see less frequent use may instead opt for manual switching to save electricity when they are not being used.