Lease-Purchase Option Matched to Lighting Budget
Musco created Musco Finance™ in response to the growing need for funding solutions. Bob Drost, manager of business development for Musco Finance, worked with Dr. Cook to develop a lease-purchase option that allowed the district to spread payments over 10 years.

“The solution we provided allowed the district to not only light the football field, but it also meant they could light their softball and baseball fields at the same time while staying within their budget,” said Drost. “Our financing also enabled the school to purchase a new scoreboard and sound system at the football stadium and provide 50 footcandles of light on the field instead of the 30 footcandles originally planned for the project.”

In addition to easing budget constraints and speeding up the timetable for lighting the three fields, the financing plan saves money by locking in today’s pricing, protecting the district from future materials cost inflation. “Musco Finance gave us the opportunity to purchase lights when we needed them,” said Dr. Cook. “They presented an option that was feasible for our budget and addressed the lighting needs of the softball and baseball fields in addition to the football field.”

Light-Structure Green™ Provides Long-Term Cost Savings
Light-Structure Green system technology focuses more light from each fixture on the field, rather than allowing it to be wasted as unwanted spill light. Therefore, the system uses fewer fixtures than typical floodlighting to produce the same light levels on the field. With typical floodlighting technology, 177 fixtures would have been required to meet specified light levels for all three fields totaled. Because of the efficiency of Light-Structure Green, the entire project required only 106 fixtures.

Light-Structure Green also includes the Constant 25™ product assurance and warranty program, which covers all routine spot maintenance and group relamps for the next 25 years, saving the district’s maintenance staff the time and effort of performing the maintenance themselves.

Adding to the cost savings for the district is Musco’s Control-Link® control and monitoring system. Control-Link allows district officials to schedule the on/off times for the lighting system, eliminating the need for someone to manually control the lights during games. Schedules can be set up days, weeks, or months in advance and adjusted anytime day or night as needed via telephone, fax, or the

Control-Link Central™ website. Control-Link also monitors the lights so that a technician can be proactively dispatched in case of an outage.

The energy efficiency of Musco’s Light-Structure Green and the maintenance and control savings showed an anticipated total operating cost savings of over $109,000 over a 25-year period. For a rural school district, this savings is significant.

The Amazing Difference
When asked how the new lights have affected the overall game environment, Dr. Cook commented, “The players can see much better and fans are amazed at the difference in quality. The spectators didn’t realize how dramatically the light levels had changed until they saw the effects of the new lights. This definitely improves the playing conditions and the ability for everyone to enjoy the games. The quality of the product and outstanding service are the reasons we chose Musco.”