Soccer Field Lighting Cost: Running and Installation Costs

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The overhead of having a soccer field is expensive enough through regular maintenance and upkeep. If it’s not about keeping the grass healthy, the problems with electrical costs for the soccer/football field lighting; is never-ending. Older fixtures can be hot and they take forever to warm-up, and the glare is always a problem. Or perhaps the problem is that you have no reasonable lighting at all, which is why you’re looking to have new lighting installed.

What will it cost to have soccer/football lighting installed for your soccer field? The advances that LED soccer field lighting has achieved, is incredibly low in terms of running costs. But the worry of installation costs is a fear that every owner must come to terms with. Yet, despite the investment that new lighting may include; it’s well worth the time and effort that LED lighting can provide. Here’s why:

Factors affecting soccer field lighting cost

1. Soccer field size

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For the sake of speaking about field size, not every soccer pitch is going to be the same size. You might have a normal-sized field or a smaller field based on a younger aged group. High school football pitches can be smaller so that five-a-side soccer games can be played. Separate teams and matches can be played side by side, so the need for lighting will all differ.

But the size of your field is ultimately going to determine the amount of lighting that needs to be installed. Larger fields don’t always need bigger expensive lights, but a smarter stadium lighting design through new can improve performance. It can also be for spectators who are gathering to watch a match and not just practice games.

Related sports lighting knowledge: Advantages of using LED lighting in sports field

2. Level of competition

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Some football pitches are meant for practice gaming and need minimal lighting to light-up the field. But when it comes to competition, there is always going to be the need for brighter lighting. The level that each game is played does have an impact on the amount of professionalism from the teams. Even if high school games are not highly competitive, the need for field lighting is still important.

Thankfully with LED lighting, the levels of brightness can elevate a soccer game from cheap amateur lighting to near-professional levels. While soccer pitches meant for professional games can now benefit from FIFA-level field lighting standards. These are always worth the expenses to upgrade a soccer field in that case.

3. Light pole height

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The type of soccer field size within an arena or stadium may have an existing design that requires pole lighting. These poles will need to be installed at a height that’s best suited for field illumination but with exceptions. They should be well out of the way of obstructing the spectator’s vision and adjusted for glare issues. If poles are already installed from the previous lighting that was used, LED lighting will merely be an upgraded replacement.

Yet the types of lighting fixtures used will need to match the level of luminance that the previous lamps allowed. Obviously, the upgrade in Lumens through LED lighting can increase the brightness levels but won’t wash-out a field completely. But it can otherwise improve a field pitch for both players and spectators.

4. Light pole layout

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There is almost certainly the need for reducing player shadows that might inhibit semi-professional games. Adding additional light poles around a soccer pitch or adding a specific number of field lights helps players see more details. The same can be said for professional competition matches that have any kind of television coverage. Your field pitch lighting design will no doubt need more than 4 corner lights to properly light-up a field.

Even for the semi-pro fields, there can be as many as a dozen light poles around the pitch. Depending on the total size of the playing field and the types of LED lamps used, will require a thoughtful layout. It might require that your field would benefit from a photometric lighting plan using the DIALux analysis.

5. Lamp origin

Many types of LED sports lights can be purchased through the internet. Often the prices are attractive but there’s a big problem if your bargain LED light comes from overseas. The warranty on these types of lights can be problematic if the lights die or malfunction prematurely. What may seem like a bargain at one point can be a risk that will cost more to fix.

This is why you should have a company that gives an excellent warranty, and is around when any problem may happen. This way, an investment that goes into brand new lighting has more than a promise from a far-away factory.

6. Lumens and light temperature

The brightness of LED lighting is known for putting out incredible levels of Lumens. However, the advantage that soccer pitches will have is through using the correct color temperature. The level of Kelvin used on a soccer field is often higher at 5500K for the professional levels. It can also range between 4000-5000K for practice fields and High School fields. You will need to determine through your lighting contractor, which is the best pitch lighting.

It may also be ideal that a dimming system is also installed so that field lights can be lowered on practice days. The correct light temperature used on a soccer field can also have attractive benefits that increase energy through increased serotonin. It can make players and spectators livelier and more energetic for their games.

Average soccer field light costs

1. For training field

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Just so it’s easier to estimate the number of basic lighting costs for a training field, it’s helpful to know what it will cost you. In a nutshell, the upfront soccer/football field light cost will start at $10,000 and can range upwards of $50,000 depending on pitch size. These may or may not include the extra costs of light poles that are placed around the pitch. These are considered to be on the cheap end of the lighting scale.

2. High School

high-school-and-college-soccer-stadium-lighting-priceWith many high schools holding official matches between competing schools, the level of lighting needs to be more professional. These lights are also more pronounced to reduce the number of shadows over the pitch as well. A good example of the starting cost for LED soccer pitch lighting starts with $50,000 up to $150,000 depending on the expenses and complexity. These lights are meant to have more professional coverage over the pitch and are excellent for matches.

3. International competition

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Some outdoor pitches that aren’t major stadiums can still hold professional matches for home games. Especially is a home team is holding semi-professional or professional matches. For these venues, there are often television cameras that require professional lighting that is recommended by the football associations including FIFA and UEFA. These LED soccer or football field lights will start at $150,000 and reach $500,000 at the high end.

This is mainly for the level of lighting uniformity and shadow reduction that complies with professional soccer regulations.

Lighting installation costs of soccer field

installation-expenses-of-soccer-stadium-luminariesEach lighting contractor will have a separate cost for the installation of pitch lights. They will do each project through a contract that specifies the installation cost from beginning to end. This may involve the installation of light poles that is done by the same contracting team. Their costs all have a different price depending on certain factors. These costs can be reduced if you purchase LED lighting beforehand.

As long as your contractor knows that this lighting is well-suited for your field, they will know exactly how to install it properly.

Running costs of soccer field lights

One of the great benefits of LED lighting is the level of cost-savings they can replace. Typical sport lights draw large amounts of Wattage and are costly for the upkeep. With LED lights, the cost-reduction is 75-85% immediately off your electricity bill. This is more than cost-effective since the savings can continue for more than 25 years. Since LED lighting doesn’t diminish over time as with filament lamps, this cost savings increases every year after that.

Bulbs don’t need replacing since LED floodlights work through a light that’s produced from a semiconductor. The amount of energy one costs per day amounts to pennies rather than dollars, making annual running costs very profitable.

Advantages of buying LED soccer field lights

If you’re replacing old lighting to LED for a better energy-saving electricity cost, the amount of money that’s spent with installation is recouped quickly. It also extends through the advantages of LED lighting since they are brighter and have more uniform lighting. There is never any problem with flicker and has no warm-up time either. These lights can be dimmed and turned on or off whenever there is a need.

Unlike older sports lights, they don’t have a cool-off period at all. Because the lights don’t fade over time as well, the amount of Lumens is constant over their lifetime. Speaking of which, LED lights have a lifespan of 25 years compared to filament light bulbs that last 1-2 years.

Soccer/football field lighting cost Q&A

1. How to save on cost when buying soccer field lights?

It’s cheaper to buy LED lighting instead of having a lighting contractor decide on a brand. In most cases, it’s a benefit to saving more money. It also allows you to have better control over a lighting budget rather than a contractor who may recommend higher-priced equipment. There’s also no immediate mark-up from a contractor’s point of view.

2. How to find the soccer field lights for sale?

Many LED companies sell soccer field lights, but you want to have a good warranty that goes with these fairly expensive items. You should also like to have a lighting professional that will replace lighting that may have a malfunction. Most companies that are located out of the country will take months to replace, so it’s better that your LED supplier is always available when you need to contact them.

Depending on the size of an order, discounts are typical to appeal to a potential buyer. But rather than looking at these expenses, a lighting supplier will be happy to offer their best sale price.

3. How long does it take to replace all the lights in a soccer field?

It can take time to replace lights, especially if the old ones need to be removed also. Then there is the amount of time it takes to focus the new lights to have a better lighting uniformity. It can take as little as one week or up to several weeks, depending on the number of lights that will be installed. It’s around this time that the light replacement happens in the off-season when no soccer games are played.

4. What is the lifespan of the new soccer field lights?

The typical lifespan is 25 years depending on the amount of time that the LED light is used. A semiconductor LED is rated for 100,000 hours but no less than 50,000 hours. It’s worth replacing older lights due to the length of time that the LEDs can survive. Normal sport lamps have a 1-2 year lifespan and will be affected by weather including cold and heat. LED lights aren’t damaged by cold weather at all.

5. Can football field lights only be good for night time games?

LED lights can be used in the day when games are being played. It helps to reduce natural sunlight shadows and keeps the lighting uniform even if the weather becomes cloudy or overcast. The lighting quality will appear as sunlight at night and natural fill light in the daytime.

6. Can new LED lights be mounted on old football field brackets?

Older lights that have been removed from outdoor pole lighting will have special brackets that can be removed or replaced. It is possible to reuse the same brackets to mount new LED lights, but may also be impractical for the new lights. Older lights are much larger and take up space on light poles. LED flood light panels are designed to take up less space and produce more direct light.

It might be considered cheap not to purchase new frame brackets if the old ones use too much space to mount them. New ones are always recommended for this reason.

7. How many lumens does it take to light a soccer field?

Since there are many size fields there are different amounts of light that are used. A standard practice field will be 300,000-450,000 lumens while a larger field arena has more. This can range between 500,000-1,500,000 Lumens that are sued for semi-pro to professional fields.

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