Southwell Racecourse in the East Midlands, UK, has been fitted with a customized LED technology lighting system – the first of its kind for a course in Europe.
LED floodlights have been installed to illuminate the course, providing high-quality lighting to the track, photo finish area, track egress, stables, parade ring and car park.
The system was designed and engineered by Musco Sports Lighting, which has also provided the same technology for English Premier League soccer stadia and Wimbledon Centre Court. There are 641 of Musco’s Total Light Control fixtures mounted to 56 poles around the track.
Adaptive controls and multi-level dimming will allow the racecourse to fully light only the sections of track being used for each race, which can vary from five furlongs to two miles, resulting in significant energy savings.
With industry-leading, patented light control technology, the LED system distributes clean, uniform light only to the intended areas around the track without spilling into the center course, stands, or outside of the venue. The lighting also features special effects capabilities that will create innovative pre-race and post-race light shows.
“We’ve successfully lit other racecourses in the UK but this is the first one using LED technology,” said Jeff Rogers, president of Musco World. “They had very clear objectives from the start, which included achieving the best possible on-track light quality and visibility, avoiding glare, eliminating spill light outside the venue, being energy efficient, and creating an exciting new experience for spectators.”
