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Target Field lights being put to the test
Burn-in gets lamps ready, allows measurements
Target Field lights will be undergoing testing until Oct. 30. (Twins)
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com
10/21/09 3:45 PM EST
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins still have a little less than six months until they play the first night game at their new ballpark, Target Field, yet the stadium lights have been burning brightly throughout the daytime hours this week. So what's the reason for the lights being on already? It's a continuation of the testing that's being done on the high-intensity lighting system to ensure the lights are at the optimum level when games are being played. When the lights are first illuminated, the color of each lamp differs slightly and burns at varying brightness levels. The colors and brightness levels then even out over time. The Twins originally scheduled a 100-hour burn to get all the lamps at the same level, but it was determined after the first week of light testing that an additional 100 hours of burn-in time would be needed. "The 100 hours came and went and the lights were still very, very bright," said Kevin Smith, the Twins executive vice president of public affairs. "The kind of lights that we have in the stadium come from the factory extremely hot. It's just taken a longer amount of time to cool them down to a more flat, normal level. That's why they are burning again now this week. We're doing it during the weekdays for as many normal hours as possible." Currently all of the 1500 watt bulbs throughout the stadium's canopy are turned on, as well as the 2000 watt bulbs in the lighting structure above the scoreboard. The schedule for the burn-in of the lights this week is from 7 a.m. until around 4 p.m. CT through Friday. The plan for next Monday and Tuesday during the daytime hours is then to take each light fixture -- all of which were installed by Minnesota-based Gephart Electric Company -- and ensure that it is aimed at a specific coordinate on the field to provide the proper lighting. Once all of the lights have been properly aimed early next week, the Twins will then turn on the lights at night from Wednesday through Friday and have people walking on the field with light measures to ensure that the proper foot-candles -- the measure of brightness -- are being recorded. Smith said that Major League Baseball requires a certain brightness of the lights for various parts of the field. "It's typically about 6 1/2 times as bright as a normal desk lamp lighting would be," Smith said. While it's been a new sight for many residents who live near Target Field to see the lights on so frequently, burning-in stadium lights is a common procedure. A similar process was done at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul where the Minnesota Wild hockey team plays, but it is an indoor facility, so there was no public display when the light testing occurred. "This isn't a unique thing, it's just very visible because we are an outdoor stadium," said Smith. "It's one of those necessary things you have to do to make sure it's perfect. But by the end of next week, it should be all done."Kelly Thesier is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
