The glare of the lighting from outdated lighting at Rotary Park is seen last August. The City Council recently OK’d a plan to upgrade to LED lights at the park’s ballfields. Greg Moberly
LAKE HAVASU CITY – New LED lighting for ballfields at Rotary Park and SARA Park recently got an OK from the Lake Havasu City Council with the possibility that other ballfields could soon see upgrades in the future as well.
Lake Havasu City Council members unanimously approved a $672,000 contract with Musco Sports Lighting, LLC for new lights for Rotary Park ballfields 1, 2 and 3 and SARA Park ballfields 1 and 2. Technology of the lights at those ballfields is outdated and complaints about their quality have been prevalent.
“The existing ballfield lights has been in service for over 30,” said Guy Reynolds, Lake Havasu City Parks superintendent, of fields in need of upgrades. “This technology is dated and has inherent traits. We have yellowing bulbs, dimming lights and refractors that are bleeding light that have flare and glare and things like that.”
Reynolds told councilmembers that the LED lighting can save the city significantly. Specifically, the newer LED lighting in place at Cypress Park requires little maintenance, he said. Plus, he added, that there are also substantial energy savings with LED lighting.
He showed images of the former ASU Havasu campus athletic fields’ lighting compared with nearby Cypress Park with the newer LED lighting that is focused on the fields and doesn’t bleed into the parking lot or the immediate neighborhood.
While councilmembers agreed to the upgrades, they also directed city staff to come back at a future meeting with a plan for LED lighting upgrades at two other SARA Park ballfields to complete upgrades.
Also, questions were raised about residents visiting parks later into the evening and not being able to use them because the lights had already been turned off.
That’s because typically the fields have been designated for a specific group or league play, Reynolds said. But he added that the newer LED technology could make it easier for the city to keep lights on at certain parks later into the night when individuals might want to drop in.
Greg Moberly
