Sports LED Lighting | Stoke Mandeville Stadium

Tamlite upgrades luminaires to bring lighting up to a professional standard at Stoke Mandeville Stadium.

Stoke Mandeville Stadium and Guttmann Centre was first opened in 1969 and is often hailed as the 'Birthplace of the Paralympic Games'. This is due to its association with Ludwig Guttmann, who determined the benefits of sport for those with serious spinal difficulties.

The Stadium hosted the Paralympic Games in 1984, and underwent a £10 million refurbishment in 2003. The Sports Centre specialises in providing the optimal gym facilities for both those with a disability and able-bodied people. As part of a recent refurbishment at the stadium, the lighting throughout the main building and associated Olympic Lodge was upgraded. The primary aim of the project, carried out by Tamlite Lighting, was to reduce maintenance time and reduce costs.

Jay Hogg, Technical Manager at Stoke Mandeville, said: “We were constantly having to change fittings. If it wasn’t the lamp that was going it was the ballast. So, we decided to upgrade to LED, which has made things much easier for us.”

An additional benefit of the upgrade led to significant energy savings at the stadium. As well as improvements to the quality of illumination, the new lighting brings up the standards for visitors. This applies to both professional and amateur sports players and gym-goers.

Lighting for Sports

The sports hall at Stoke Mandeville hosts a number of sports at professional level. This includes netball, basketball, badminton and football.

Previous lighting in the sports hall delivered an average illuminance level of 100 lux. The lowest recording measures 85 lux.

The new lighting solution means they can host a range of competitive sports and activities with Sports England standards. Lux levels were dramatically improved, and the uniformity ratio boosted to above the required level of 0.7.

Tamlite lighting design utilises the TWINSPOT ST. Its optical control and performance provides the ideal playing environment and enhanced spectator experience.

Jay Hogg, said: “Previously, the lighting distributed unevenly in the sports hall. There were dark patches and shadows throughout. Now, the new Tamlite EXPO installation provides much better uniformity and boosts the lighting levels up to professional sports standards. In addition, this has been achieved using half the number of fittings previously installed, therefore saving energy.”

Overall, the spacings and performance of the EXPO in the sports hall also allows for the court to be split into four sections with equal lighting. This is important if a number of matches are taking place at the same time.

Gym Lighting

Afterward, Tamlite also specified an upgrade in the free weights section of the gym, and in the class studio. The level of illumination in these areas had previously been too low, particularly in the studio. In conjunction with the existing colour scheme, the environment now creates a vibrant experience for the class-goers.

In addition, changing rooms and showers were supplied with IP rated recessed modules. As a result, this will reduce the overall maintenance time and costs.

Residential Lighting Solution

As well as the sporting facilities on offer, the popular café was upgraded with pendant luminaires. Now, the café provides a comfortable environment for visitors and gym-goers.

The Olympic Lodge is an onsite hotel with over 50 living rooms and a range of meeting/conference facilities. Throughout, the rooms have benefited from their upgrades. Providing improvements in terms of the level of illumination and aesthetics, it creates a much more enjoyable experience for visitors.

If you have any questions regarding the lighting in your sports facility, contact our expert lighting team.