Floodlight

A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage lighting instrument in live performances such as concerts and plays. In the top tiers of many professional sports, it is a requirement for stadiums to have floodlights to allow games to be scheduled outside daylight hours. Evening or night matches may suit spectators who have work or other commitment earlier in the day. One motivation for this is television marketing, especially in sports such as gridiron football which rely on TV rights money to finance the sport. Some sports grounds which do not have permanent floodlights installed may make use of portable temporary ones instead. Many larger floodlights (see bottom picture) will have gantries for bulb changing and maintenance. These will usually be able to accommodate one or two maintenance workers. The most common type of floodlight is the metal-halide lamp, which emits a bright white light (typically 75–100 lumens/Watt). Sodium-vapor lamps are also commonly used for sporting events, as they have a very high lumen to watt ratio (typically 80–140 lumens/Watt), making them a cost-effective choice when certain lux levels must be provided. LED floodlights are bright enough to be used for illumination purposes on large sport fields. The main advantages of LEDs in this application are their lower power consumption, longer life, and instant start-up (the lack of a 'warm-up' period reduces game delays after power outages). The first LED lit sports field in the United Kingdom was switched on at Taunton Vale Sports Club on 6 September 2014. The first sport to play under floodlights was polo, on 18 July 1878. Ranelagh Club hosted a match in Fulham, London, England against the Hurlingham Club. In August 1879, two matches of Australian rules football were staged at the Melbourne Cricket Ground under electric lights. The first was between two 'scratch' teams composed of military personnel. The following week, two of the city's leading football clubs, rivals Carlton and Melbourne, played another night match. On both occasions, the lights failed to illuminate the whole ground, and the spectators struggled to make sense of the action in the murky conditions. Cricket was first played under floodlights on 11 August 1952, during an exhibition game at Highbury stadium in England. International day/night cricket, played under floodlights, began in 1979. Since then, many cricket stadiums have installed floodlights and use them for both domestic and international matches. Traditional cricket floodlights are mounted at the top of a tall pole, to elevate them out of the fielder's eyeline when the ball is hit high into the air. However, some cricket stadiums have lower-mounted floodlights, particularly if the stadium is shared with other sports.