The consequences of poor sports lighting
can wear on school officials. Robeson
County Athletic Director Ronnie Chavis
knew several ballfields in his six-school
district were below current North Carolina
High School Athletic Association lighting
standards requiring 50 footcandles for
football and 50 footcandles infield/30
footcandles outfield for baseball and softball.
In 2007, with a Title IX softball lighting
upgrade pending, Chavis asked Musco
Sports Lighting to perform
a lighting survey for the
county’s 18 baseball,
softball, and football
fields. The report was
worse than he anticipated.
Only four lighting systems
were compliant with
current state standards
– many failed to meet
previous regulations.
Most fixtures in North
Carolina’s largest county were mounted on
wood poles. Some baseball lights were so
old Chavis was having difficulty finding
parts. One football field still contained the
lighting system originally installed three
decades ago.
“I was always worried about liability, but
it really struck home with me when a line
drive was hit right by our third baseman’s
head in Red Springs, and he didn’t even see
it coming. As a baseball coach, I knew the
lights weren’t meeting standards, but Musco
gave me the ammunition,” Chavis said.
“I was always worried about the liability, but it really struck home with me when a line drive was
hit right by our third baseman’s head in Red Springs, and he didn’t even see it coming.”
– Robeson County Athletic Director Ronnie Chavis
Project Summary
PROJECT: Public Schools of Robeson County Baseball, Softball, Football Lighting
Lumberton, NC
25-YEAR PROJECTED LIFE-CYCLE SAVINGS:
$405,000
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS: Musco Finance™ allowed the school
district to accomplish all their
lighting projects in the same year
Green Generation Lighting®
provides guaranteed light levels
with Constant Light™ in addition
to reduced glare
Constant 25™ product assurance
and warranty program eliminates
sports lighting maintenance issues
for the facilities staff
LIGHTING SYSTEM:
Light-Structure Green™
6 Baseball Fields
6 Softball Fields
Football Field
66 poles · 394 luminaires
Football – 50 constant horizontal
footcandles (500 lux), 2:1
uniformity
Proof of Performance
Chavis took the lighting report and his
eyewitness account to the Board of
Education. He challenged leaders that the
liability resulting from
documented light levels
below state specifications
could lead to lawsuits more
costly than upgrades.
“I also said if our teams
make the state playoffs
with our current lights, the
visiting teams had the right
to demand that the game at
our facility not be played
at night, or they could
schedule another facility. We didn’t want
the embarrassment of telling our folks if we
make the playoffs we would have to play on
the road,” Chavis said.
Chavis supported his case with a life-cycle
cost analysis for the 14 underperforming
fields comparing the county’s previous lighting technology with Musco’s Light-Structure Green™ and SportsCluster Green™ systems. According to Musco Sales Representative Stacy Wells, in order to meet NCHSAA standards, Robeson County would need 753 fixtures of the outdated technology to perform the job of 454 Green Generation Lighting® fixtures.
Additionally, the installation of Musco’s high-efficiency Green Generation Lighting® with improved luminaire photometrics would also have an immediate, measurable impact on the district’s energy consumption and long-term maintenance costs.
Leveling the Playing Field
The Board ruled that new Musco lighting systems with Control-Link® could be purchased and installed as athletic budgets allowed for football, softball, and baseball fields at Lumberton and South Robeson high schools; and the high school softball and baseball fields in Fairmont, Purnell-Swett, Red Springs, and St. Paul’s. Only one big hurdle remained: which schools would get lights first?
Chavis knew the budget would push completion out nearly a decade. The Musco Finance™ team developed a payment program that solved the dilemma. “Musco gave us the ability to pay over 10 years. It eliminated the politics of prioritizing the fields,” said Chavis. “Musco’s program got them all done at the same time.”
All but one field were equipped with Light-Structure Green. Lumberton’s football field had useable steel poles, so they were retrofitted with SportsCluster Green fixtures without increasing electrical loads.
“I don't know when I'll retire, but for the next 25 years I'll never have to worry about problems with lights." –Ronnie Chavis
Robeson County Athletic Director
Lumberton, NC
The improvement to the playing surfaces, as well as some reactions have been dramatic. “When they turned on the new lights at one of our baseball fields, the coach told me he just wanted to pitch a tent and stay there all night,” Chavis said.
Taking Back Control All 14 fields are networked to Musco’s Control-Link automated scheduling system that manages usage and monitoring of the lighting systems. The Control-Link Central™ team is available 24/7 to provide assistance or control switches for the various systems. Individual athletic directors can work directly with Musco via the Internet, e-mail, phone, or fax for the on/off operation of the lights, or do manual overrides if schedules change.
“The good thing about Control-Link is it eliminates three to four people having keys to turn on and off the lights. If you’ve already predetermined the times, that’s a nice luxury to have,” Chavis said.
Along with satisfied athletic directors, players, and fans, Chavis’s maintenance staff is equally pleased with the new systems and the Constant 25™ warranty that covers 25 years of carefree lighting equipment operation, including needed maintenance, and spot and group relamps.
“Our maintenance staff is overtaxed as it is, so they’re happy to no longer climb poles. I don’t know when I’ll retire, but for the next 25 years I’ll never have to worry again about problems with lights.” Chavis said. •
25-Year Life Cycle Cost Baseball, Softball, and Football Field
Prior
Technology 753 Luminaires
1,219.9 Average kW
454 Luminaires
710.1 Average kW
Savings
Energy1
$487,944
$284,022
$203,922
Group Relamp 2
$156,875
$0
$149,375
Lamp Maintenance 3
$3,750
$0
$3,750
Controls – Energy 4
$48,794
$0
$48,794
Projected Totals
$697,363
$291,522
$405,841
1. Customer estimated usage 200 hours per year/5,000 hours total usage, $.08 per kilowatt hour.
2. $125 per luminaire for relamp labor and materials.
3. Average of 7.5 repairs at $500 each.
4. 10% savings by switching on and off 20 minutes closer to actual usage time.
