Premier League: Southampton FC first European club to install LED floodlights

Southampton FC (Premier League) are installing LED projectors in St. Mary's Stadium (capacity 32,000) for the 2014-15 season, the club announced on 23/06/2014. The lighting system was developed by the British lighting company Vision Accendo and is a first for a European stadium.

This technology provides better light distribution over the pitch and can achieve energy savings over metal halide floodlights used by most clubs, said Southampton FC. Another innovation is that the LED lights can be turned on and off instantly.

LED projectors also remove the flicker that current systems can cause in slow-motion replays on television. Premier League stadiums must have a flicker rate of less than 6% for their floodlighting. With LED floodlights, Southampton will not exceed 0.2%.

"It is not just energy savings that led Southampton to choose this project," said Ian Williams, CTO of Vision Accendo, speaking to News Tank on 24/06/2014. "Aside from the ecological aspect, the real advantage of this type of lighting is improvement in the quality of match broadcasts."

• Southampton FC were also the…