Two Little League fields carry 44 to 48 foot-candles across the infields, using 101 LED floodlights mounted on the existing 40-foot wood poles. Here’s how the project came together, and why the optic selection was just as important as the light fixture count.
Total Light Fixtures Supplied:
101Infield Foot Candles Achieved:
44-48The Backstory of Our Relationship With Emerald Playground Association
Gil Resto, Electrician at GR Electric LLC, was seeking support on behalf of his customer, Emerald Playground Association, a nonprofit Little League organization in Slatington, Pennsylvania. The association maintains two baseball fields that serve the surrounding community, requiring a lighting solution to maximize player safety while allowing for performance after sunset. This upgrade would also let the fields host tournaments, rather than sending Little League teams elsewhere.
The electrician needed to prepare a preliminary cost estimate for the light fixture investment that would be presented to the association for budget approval. Each baseball field included 6 existing 40-foot wood poles, which set the mounting-height requirements for the lights. Our team ran a custom lighting plan to validate the required fixture counts and provided a product recommendation.
After a quote was approved and the funds were secured, Chad Crisman from the association began working directly with LED Lighting Supply to purchase the lights for the project. Gil continued working as the electrician installing the new system.
The Challenge of the Baseball Field Lighting Project
Little League baseball has a narrow window of usable daylight. At the Emerald Playground fields, practices and games regularly stretched into the evening. The last few innings of a spring or fall game were played in fading light. This limited the number of games that could be scheduled on each field due to safety and performance concerns. This restriction pushed teams toward playing during daylight slots and eliminated the possibility of hosting tournament-level games.
The lighting challenge was not simply about overall brightness. Chad explained they were concerned about light landing in concentrated hot spots around the poles. The goal was to illuminate both fields as uniformly as possible, preventing shadows in outfield corners and foul territory, an issue we often see when floodlights are installed with limited focus on aiming angles and optics.
Due to the unique circumstances of upgrading two separate fields, Emerald Playground Association required an experienced baseball field lighting partner.
Based on our 15+ years of experience, we typically recommend a light level of 30 to 50 foot candles (fc) in the infield and 15 to 30 fc in the outfield for recreational-level baseball fields. These values align with the standards set by Little League International and meet tournament-level play requirements.
Emerald Playground Association Left Baseball Field With Our LED Lights Installed
Risks of Poor or Uneven Field Lighting
- Fly balls that travel from a lit zone into darkness lead to missed catches and introduce player safety risks
- Uneven light on the base paths, foul lines, and outfield makes footing harder to read, increasing the chance of player collision while tracking a ball
- Lights aimed without proper optics can put light directly into a player's eyes just as they need to pick up the ball
- Inconsistent light across the infield makes close calls harder for officials and adds friction to games
- Bleachers, walkways, parking areas, and concession areas need enough light for community members to move safely after dark
- Poorly controlled floodlights push light past the field lines into nearby properties and put a community field at odds with local ordinances
Community ball fields usually sit near residential neighborhoods, making light pollution control a requirement. Many municipalities regulate light spill at the property lines and apply dark sky standards. Even where no ordinance applies, a nonprofit that depends on the community has a strong reason to keep light on the fields and off the neighboring areas.
Left Field Lighting Plan
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Left Field Lighting Plan Metrics:
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Right Field Lighting Plan
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Right Field Lighting Plan Metrics:
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The Strategy and Solution of a Baseball Field LED System
Emerald Playground Association was connected with LED Lighting Supply Product Specialist Jeff Cesenaro to evaluate the existing layout, mounting heights, and electrical constraints.
Our team worked with Gil to confirm the panel box and its components could support the specifications of the recommended solution. This collaboration ensured the fixture count and wattage were validated before anything left our warehouse.
Electrical Note: A licensed electrician should perform all electrical work in accordance with the NEC and local code.
The poles, light fixtures, and crossarms each carry their own EPA rating. Their combined EPA should stay within the pole's rating for that wind zone. With 40-foot wood poles and multiple fixtures per pole, the mounting and pole capacity required confirmation.
Installation Note: A qualified engineer should verify structural calculations for the specific pole, mounting configuration, and local wind zone.
Our team recommended 101 400-watt modular LED floodlights across the two fields. 54 lights were on the left field and 47 on the right field, across 6 light poles on each field. Each fixture runs two 200-watt modules.
LED Lighting Supply suggested pairing a 45-degree optic with every module, 108 optics for left field and 94 for right field. A 45-degree optic spreads the light source wider than a narrow spot optic, preventing focused hot spots around the light poles.
The optics keep illumination levels controlled, distributing light to the corners of the fields rather than stopping at the base of the pole. Fixture tilt then pushes light toward the areas that would otherwise go dark. The association later added a laser aiming device to ensure precise alignment during installation.
The Results of Our Recommendation on the Fields
The infields carry the highest foot candle levels and the tightest uniformity. The infield foot candle averages are 44 fc for the left field and 48 fc for the right field. The infields maintain uniformity ratios of 3.8 and 2.6. Uniformity is expressed as a max/min ratio of the foot candle value, and a lower number means a more even spread of light. The outfield light levels step down as expected, to 14 fc in the left field and 20 fc in the right field.
The recommended solution allows the association’s Little League teams to engage in tournament-level play on the field and play safely after dark. Players now move through the fields without having to adjust their eyes between uneven illumination.
Consistent, uniform light helps players read the game the same way they would in daylight, improving overall game performance. Batters can visualize the ball out of the pitcher's hand sooner, improving reaction time. Fielders can track fly balls into their gloves without losing sight against a dark patch of sky. Base runners can judge distances and reaction plays with more confidence.
Emerald Playground Association Right Baseball Field With Our LED Lights Installed
Emerald Playground Association Left Baseball Field With Our LED Lights Installed
