Court Lighting Buying Guide for Schools and Athletic Facilities
Court Lighting Buying Guide for Schools and Athletic Facilities
Bad lighting is one of those facility problems that everyone adapts to until they stop noticing it — and then a visiting team arrives in a gym that's properly lit, athletes play on a field with quality pole lighting, or a facilities manager pulls the annual energy bill and sees exactly what that aging metal halide system has been costing for the last decade.
The conversation about court lighting tends to start in one of three places: an aging system that's failing and needs replacement, a new construction or renovation project specifying lighting from scratch, or an energy audit that makes the operating cost of existing lighting impossible to ignore. Wherever it starts, the decision framework is the same — and getting it wrong creates a long-term capital investment that underperforms on every metric that matters.
This guide is for athletic directors, facilities managers, and school administrators who are making a court lighting decision and want to make it correctly. We cover every factor that determines whether a lighting system is appropriate for athletic use — illuminance levels and uniformity standards, LED versus legacy technology, indoor versus outdoor system requirements, fixture types for gymnasiums and outdoor courts, energy efficiency calculations, maintenance requirements, and the compliance standards that govern lighting in sanctioned athletic environments. By the end, you have a complete decision framework and the vocabulary to make a well-documented specification before a single product is ordered.
Why Court Lighting Is a Capital Investment Decision, Not an Equipment Decision
Before getting into specifications, it's worth being precise about what makes court lighting different from most other athletic facility purchases — because the decision framework is fundamentally different from buying a basketball system or a volleyball net.
Court lighting is infrastructure. A basketball hoop or a pitching machine is equipment — it can be replaced relatively easily if the wrong product is purchased. Lighting fixtures are infrastructure — they're installed into the structure of the facility, they're connected to the electrical system, and replacing them before the end of their useful life means absorbing installation costs twice. Getting the specification right the first time is not just a best practice. It's an economic requirement.
The operating cost of lighting exceeds the purchase cost over the system's lifetime. A lighting system that runs 1,000 hours per year — a conservative estimate for an active school gymnasium — at a given wattage creates an operating cost that compounds over 10 to 20 years. The difference in annual energy cost between a properly specified LED system and an aging metal halide system can be significant — enough that the operating cost savings alone often justify the capital investment in an upgrade within 3 to 7 years. Any lighting purchase that doesn't include a total cost of ownership calculation — including installation and 15 to 20 years of energy cost — is missing the most important number in the decision.
Lighting affects athletic performance and safety. This is not a soft consideration. Insufficient illuminance levels make it genuinely harder for athletes to track fast-moving balls — a basketball off a rim, a volleyball serve, a baseball pitch. Poor uniformity creates bright zones and dark zones that athletes unconsciously account for during play — affecting performance and creating safety risks at the transition points. Excessive glare causes visual fatigue during extended practice sessions. The quality of the lighting directly affects the quality of athletic activity happening under it.
Compliance standards exist and matter. The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) publishes recommended illuminance levels and uniformity ratios for sports lighting applications — different standards for different sports, different standards for recreational versus competitive play, and different standards for indoor versus outdoor environments. Facilities hosting sanctioned athletic competition at the high school level and above need lighting that meets IES standards for their specific sport and competition level. Lighting that falls below those standards creates both a performance issue and a documentation issue for programs hosting official competition.
Step 1: Understand the Core Lighting Metrics — What the Numbers Actually Mean
Sports lighting specifications use terminology that facilities managers and athletic directors don't always have daily familiarity with. Understanding what the key metrics mean — and what they mean for athletic performance — is the foundation for evaluating any lighting product or proposal.
Foot-Candles (FC): The Illuminance Measure
A foot-candle is the standard unit of illuminance in US specifications — the amount of light falling on a one-square-foot surface from a standard candle one foot away. In practical terms, it measures how bright the surface (the floor, the court, the field) is under the lighting system.
More foot-candles means brighter, more visible surfaces. The IES publishes recommended foot-candle levels for different sports applications:
Indoor gymnasium — IES recommended illuminance levels:
| Application Level | Recommended FC |
|---|---|
| Recreational / PE class use | 30–50 FC |
| Interscholastic competition (sub-varsity) | 50–75 FC |
| Interscholastic competition (varsity) | 75–100 FC |
| Televised competition / broadcast quality | 100–150 FC+ |
Outdoor courts — IES recommended illuminance levels:
| Application Level | Recommended FC |
|---|---|
| Recreational play | 20–30 FC |
| Interscholastic competition | 30–50 FC |
| Varsity competition / tournament hosting | 50–75 FC |
These are planning targets — the actual foot-candle levels delivered by a specific fixture layout on your specific court dimensions need to be verified through a photometric analysis before any system is purchased.
Uniformity Ratio: The Metric Most Buyers Skip
Uniformity ratio measures how evenly light is distributed across the playing surface — specifically the ratio between the average illuminance and the minimum illuminance measured at any point on the court.
A court with 80 FC average illuminance and a minimum of 20 FC in the corners has poor uniformity — some areas are well-lit, others are significantly dimmer. A court with 80 FC average and 60 FC minimum has excellent uniformity — the surface is consistently bright with no significant dark zones.
Why uniformity matters more than many buyers realize: Poor uniformity is what athletes and coaches actually experience as "bad lighting" — not low average brightness, but inconsistency. A player moving from a bright zone to a dimmer zone loses visual acuity on a ball in flight for a fraction of a second — exactly the fraction of a second that matters during competition. IES standards specify minimum uniformity ratios alongside illuminance targets. For varsity competition, a uniformity ratio of 0.5 (minimum:average) or better is the standard — meaning no point on the court falls below 50% of the average illuminance.
Color Rendering Index (CRI): How Accurately Light Shows Color
CRI measures how accurately a light source renders colors relative to natural sunlight — on a scale of 0 to 100 where 100 is perfect color rendering.
For athletic applications, CRI matters primarily for two reasons: athlete comfort during extended sessions and the quality of visual experience for spectators and any video documentation of play. IES recommends a minimum CRI of 65 for sports lighting — most quality LED systems designed for athletic use achieve 80 CRI or above. Systems below 65 CRI create a washed-out, slightly distorted visual environment that contributes to visual fatigue over a two-hour practice.
Color Temperature (CCT): The Warm vs. Cool Question
Color temperature — measured in Kelvin — determines whether light appears warm (more yellow) or cool (more blue-white). For sports lighting, the standard range is 4,000K to 5,700K — a neutral to cool white that provides the clarity and visual acuity appropriate for athletic activity.
Warm lighting (below 3,500K) creates a yellowish cast that reduces visual sharpness — not appropriate for athletic environments. Very cool lighting (above 6,000K) can feel harsh over extended periods. The 4,000K to 5,000K range is the practical sweet spot for gymnasium and court applications — bright, clear, neutral, and comfortable over full practice sessions.
Step 2: LED vs. Legacy Technology — Why This Is No Longer a Real Debate
Ten years ago, the choice between LED and metal halide or fluorescent lighting for gymnasium and court applications involved real tradeoffs — LED technology was less mature, the upfront cost premium was significant, and some early LED systems didn't match the light quality of well-maintained metal halide installations.
That debate is effectively resolved in 2025. LED technology has advanced to the point where quality LED systems outperform legacy technology on every metric that matters for athletic facilities — and the financial case for LED has become decisive. Here's why.
Energy Efficiency
LED fixtures convert a significantly higher percentage of electrical input to visible light than metal halide or fluorescent alternatives. A quality LED high-bay gymnasium fixture delivers comparable or superior illuminance levels at 40 to 60% of the wattage of an equivalent metal halide system.
For a gymnasium running 1,000 hours annually — roughly 3 hours per day throughout the school year plus summer programs — the energy cost difference between a 400W metal halide system and a 150W LED system with equivalent output is a meaningful annual operational saving that compounds across a 15 to 20-year system lifetime.
Lifespan and Maintenance Cost
Metal halide lamps have a rated lifespan of approximately 10,000 to 20,000 hours — and their light output degrades significantly before they fail, meaning the effective useful life before meaningful brightness reduction is shorter than the failure rating suggests. Replacing lamps in a gymnasium ceiling requires a lift, scheduled downtime, and lamp cost — a maintenance burden that accumulates significantly over the system's lifetime.
Quality LED systems for athletic applications are rated at 50,000+ hours — the figure confirmed in the Pro Athletic Supply collection description. At 1,000 hours of annual use, that represents 50+ years of operational life before the fixture reaches end of rated life. Lamp replacement maintenance essentially disappears from the maintenance budget for the system's usable life.
Instant On and Control Compatibility
Metal halide fixtures require a warm-up period of 3 to 5 minutes to reach full output — and a cool-down period before they can be restarted after being turned off. LED fixtures are instant on at full output with no warm-up or cool-down. For facilities that turn lights on before practices and off after — multiple times per day — this operational convenience is meaningful. For facilities integrating occupancy sensors or scheduled lighting controls, LED is the only technology that works cleanly with modern control systems.
Light Quality for Athletic Performance
Early LED systems for gymnasium applications sometimes produced harsh, directional light with high glare — a legitimate performance drawback. Quality current-generation LED fixtures for sports applications use diffuser optics and carefully designed beam patterns that deliver the illuminance targets with controlled glare and the high uniformity that athletic performance requires.
The systems in Pro Athletic Supply's collection are IES-compliant — meaning they meet the Illuminating Engineering Society's standards for sports application performance including illuminance levels, uniformity, and glare control. That compliance designation is the specification checkpoint that confirms a fixture is designed for genuine athletic use rather than adapted from a general commercial application.
Step 3: Indoor Gymnasium Lighting — System Types and Selection Criteria
Indoor gymnasium lighting is a distinct application from outdoor court lighting — the ceiling height, the reflective surfaces, the multi-sport use requirements, and the specific optical performance needed for different sports all affect system selection.
High-Bay LED Fixtures: The Gymnasium Standard
LED high-bay fixtures are the standard for gymnasium ceiling applications — designed specifically for high-ceiling indoor environments (typically 15 to 40 feet mounting height) and optimized to deliver even illuminance across large floor areas from elevated mounting points.
Fixture types within the high-bay category:
Round high-bays (UFO style) are the most common gymnasium fixture format — a compact, symmetrical fixture with a round profile that distributes light in a broad pattern. They're available in a wide range of wattages appropriate for different gymnasium sizes and ceiling heights, and they're typically the most cost-effective per fixture among the high-bay options.
Linear high-bays use an elongated fixture profile with a linear LED array — producing a wider rectangular light distribution that can be more effective than round fixtures in narrower or irregularly shaped gymnasium spaces where the court dimensions don't fit cleanly under a square fixture array.
Vapor-tight and sport-specific fixtures are designed for gymnasiums with specific requirements — ventilated spaces, facilities that see significant humidity variation, or courts where controlled beam patterns are required to minimize glare in specific viewing directions (applicable to gymnasiums with elevated spectator seating).
Fixture Quantity and Layout for Gymnasium Applications
The number of fixtures, their wattage, and their spacing across the ceiling jointly determine the illuminance levels and uniformity ratio delivered to the court surface. This calculation — called a photometric layout — must be done for your specific gymnasium before a system is specified.
What a photometric layout requires:
- Gymnasium floor dimensions (length and width)
- Ceiling height at the fixture mounting point
- Court dimensions and orientation within the gymnasium
- Target foot-candle level for the intended use (recreational, JV competition, varsity competition)
- Target uniformity ratio
Most quality LED manufacturers and distributors can produce a photometric layout for your specific gymnasium at no cost before purchase — the layout is a standard pre-sale service for institutional buyers. Any lighting system purchase for a gymnasium that doesn't include a photometric analysis with verified illuminance and uniformity calculations is being specified on guesswork.
At Pro Athletic Supply, we provide photometric analysis support for institutional gymnasium lighting purchases. Contact our team with your gymnasium dimensions and target performance level and we'll generate the layout before you commit to a system.
Multi-Sport Gymnasium Considerations
Most school gymnasiums host multiple sports — basketball, volleyball, badminton, pickleball, PE activities — and the lighting system needs to serve all of them. The good news is that the IES standards for gymnasium sports lighting are designed around multi-sport performance — a system meeting varsity basketball illuminance and uniformity standards typically meets or exceeds the performance requirements for volleyball, badminton, and other gymnasium sports simultaneously.
The one consideration worth specific attention in multi-sport gyms is glare control in different viewing directions. A volleyball player looking toward the ceiling during a serve receive is more glare-sensitive than a basketball player whose gaze is typically directed across the court rather than upward. Quality gymnasium LED fixtures include optical control that limits direct glare at steep vertical angles — verify this specification when evaluating fixtures for a gymnasium that hosts significant volleyball programming.
→ Shop indoor LED gymnasium lighting
Step 4: Outdoor Court Lighting — Poles, Fixtures, and Layout Requirements
Outdoor court lighting for schools and athletic facilities — basketball courts, tennis courts, pickleball courts, multipurpose outdoor courts — involves a different set of specifications from indoor gymnasium lighting. The environmental requirements, the pole infrastructure, the fixture aiming requirements, and the light spill management considerations are all distinct from indoor applications.
Pole Systems: Height, Placement, and Structural Requirements
The pole system is the structural foundation of any outdoor court lighting installation — and it's the component with the highest installation cost and the most significant structural requirements.
Pole height for outdoor court lighting:
Standard outdoor court lighting pole heights range from 20 to 30 feet for most school court applications. The appropriate pole height depends on the court dimensions, the number of poles in the layout, and the specific fixture beam angle — taller poles with wider-angle fixtures can cover more court area per pole, which can reduce the total number of poles required but increases each pole's structural and wind load requirements.
For a standard two-court outdoor basketball or tennis facility, a four-pole layout — one pole near each corner of the combined court area — at 20 to 25 feet height with appropriate fixtures typically delivers IES-recommended illuminance levels with good uniformity. Larger facilities or facilities requiring higher illuminance levels for competition hosting may require additional poles or taller mounting heights.
Pole foundation and structural requirements:
Every outdoor lighting pole requires a concrete foundation engineered for the specific pole height, fixture weight, and local wind load requirements. Wind loading — the force a pole and its fixtures must withstand in high-wind events — is specified by local building codes based on your geographic location. In high-wind regions, pole foundations for 25-foot lighting poles may require significant concrete depth and diameter to meet structural requirements.
Pole foundations must be designed by a structural engineer or specified to the manufacturer's documented engineering requirements for the specific pole product. Improperly engineered foundations are a structural safety issue — lighting poles that fail in wind events cause significant damage and create serious safety hazards.
Pole placement and light spill:
Outdoor court lighting creates light spill — light that extends beyond the intended court area into adjacent properties, roadways, or residential areas. Many municipalities have ordinances limiting light spill (measured in foot-candles) at property lines. Full-cutoff or sharp-cutoff LED fixtures — designed to direct light downward onto the court rather than sideways into adjacent areas — are the specification standard for school outdoor court lighting in populated areas.
Before finalizing a pole layout, verify local ordinances on light trespass and specify fixtures with appropriate cutoff characteristics. A photometric layout for outdoor court lighting should include illuminance calculations at the property line, not just on the court surface.
LED Fixtures for Outdoor Court Applications
Outdoor LED fixtures for court lighting are distinct from indoor high-bay fixtures in several important ways:
Weatherproofing. Outdoor fixtures must be rated for wet location operation — a minimum IP65 rating (dust-tight and protected against water jets from any direction) for court applications. Fixtures without appropriate weatherproofing degrade rapidly in outdoor environments and fail before the end of their rated useful life.
Beam angle and optical control. Outdoor court fixtures are aimed fixtures — they're positioned on poles and aimed at specific areas of the court to build the desired illuminance pattern across the full court surface. The fixture's beam angle and optical pattern determine how effectively each fixture contributes to the overall uniformity of the installation. Court-specific LED fixtures include adjustable aiming mounts that allow precise field adjustment after installation.
Surge protection. Outdoor fixtures are exposed to lightning-induced electrical surges — a real and recurring cause of LED driver failure in outdoor applications. Quality outdoor fixtures include surge protection ratings at 10kV or higher. Fixtures without surge protection in lightning-prone regions will see significantly shorter operational lifespans.
The Dominator line in our collection is built specifically for outdoor athletic court and field applications — rated for wet location operation, appropriate surge protection, and fixture optics designed for court lighting beam patterns. These are purpose-built sports lighting fixtures, not adapted general commercial products.
→ Shop outdoor court pole lighting
Step 5: Energy Efficiency, ROI, and the Utility Rebate Opportunity
For institutional facilities making a lighting capital investment, the financial case for LED needs to be documented — both for internal budget approval and for any utility rebate programs your facility may qualify for.
Calculating Energy Cost Savings
The energy cost calculation is straightforward:
Annual energy cost = Watts × Hours per year ÷ 1,000 × Cost per kWh
For a gymnasium running 400W metal halide fixtures versus 150W LED equivalents across an eight-fixture installation, at 1,000 annual hours and $0.12 per kWh:
Metal halide: 400W × 8 fixtures × 1,000 hours ÷ 1,000 × $0.12 = $384 per year
LED: 150W × 8 fixtures × 1,000 hours ÷ 1,000 × $0.12 = $144 per year
Annual savings: $240 per year. Over 20 years — a conservative estimate for LED system lifespan — that's $4,800 in energy savings from the gymnasium lighting alone. A larger facility with more fixtures, higher operating hours, or higher local electricity rates produces proportionally larger savings.
This calculation, presented alongside the system purchase and installation cost, creates the payback period analysis that most capital investment approvals require. For many school facilities, LED lighting upgrades have payback periods of 3 to 7 years on energy savings alone — before maintenance cost reduction is factored in.
Utility Rebate Programs
Most US utilities offer rebate programs for commercial and institutional LED lighting upgrades — and school facilities typically qualify as commercial accounts. Rebate structures vary by utility but commonly include:
Per-fixture rebates based on the wattage reduction between the existing fixture and the LED replacement — typically $15 to $75 per fixture depending on the utility and the wattage difference.
Prescriptive rebates for specific fixture types that have been pre-approved by the utility for rebate eligibility — LED high-bay replacements are almost universally on prescriptive rebate lists because the energy savings are well-documented and consistent.
Custom rebates for larger projects where the energy savings are calculated on a project-specific basis and the rebate is proportional to the documented kWh reduction.
Before finalizing any gymnasium or outdoor court lighting purchase, contact your utility's energy efficiency department and ask specifically about LED rebates for sports lighting applications. For larger school district projects, many utilities will assign an account representative to walk through the rebate application process. The rebate documentation typically requires the fixture specifications — wattage, lumens, efficacy, and DLC (DesignLights Consortium) listing — which quality LED fixtures designed for institutional use will have.
DLC listing is the quality certification program for commercial LED products in North America — products that appear on the DLC Qualified Products List have been independently verified for energy efficiency, light output, and performance specifications. Most utility rebate programs require DLC-listed products. Verify DLC listing for any fixture you're considering purchasing for a facility that plans to pursue utility rebates.
Step 6: The Procurement Process for Lighting Projects
Court lighting is a larger and more complex procurement than most athletic equipment purchases — it involves electrical contractors, structural work, permit processes, and potentially utility rebate applications alongside the fixture and pole purchase itself. Understanding the full project scope before starting the procurement process prevents the timeline and budget surprises that affect most first-time lighting projects.
Project Components and Who Provides Each
Fixtures and poles: Purchased from a lighting supplier (Pro Athletic Supply for the fixture and pole products). This is the component where the athletic director or facilities manager has primary specification authority.
Electrical installation: Performed by a licensed electrical contractor — the fixture purchase does not include installation. Electrical work requires a licensed contractor, permits in most jurisdictions, and inspection by the local authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) before the system can be energized.
Structural work for outdoor pole foundations: Performed by a concrete or general contractor — concrete foundation installation for outdoor lighting poles requires separate contracting from the electrical work in most projects.
Permits: Required in almost all jurisdictions for both electrical work and structural foundations. The permitting process timeline — which varies from a few days to several weeks depending on the jurisdiction and current permit office workload — needs to be factored into the project schedule.
Utility rebate application: Typically filed by the facility or the electrical contractor after installation is complete and inspection is passed. Many utilities require the application within 90 to 180 days of installation — don't miss the window.
Realistic Project Timeline for Gymnasium Lighting Upgrades
Typical timeline from decision to energized system:
- Photometric analysis and system specification: 1 to 2 weeks
- Purchase order and fixture procurement: 2 to 4 weeks (most quality LED fixtures are not shelf stock — lead times are real)
- Electrical contractor selection and scheduling: 2 to 6 weeks (quality contractors have backlogs)
- Permit application and approval: 1 to 4 weeks depending on jurisdiction
- Installation: 1 to 3 days for a gymnasium fixture replacement, longer for new outdoor pole installation
- Inspection and energization: 1 to 2 weeks after installation
Total realistic timeline: 8 to 16 weeks from decision to operational system. For schools planning lighting upgrades to be complete before a specific season, the procurement process needs to start at least three to four months before the target completion date.
Getting a Formal Quote
Court lighting purchases at the institutional level require formal documentation — a line-item quote with fixture specifications, quantities, shipping terms, and warranty documentation that supports the purchase order approval process.
At Pro Athletic Supply, we provide formal quotes for institutional lighting purchases, accept school purchase orders, and can connect facilities with photometric analysis support before the order is placed. Contact our team with your facility dimensions and performance requirements and we'll build the documentation you need to move through your institution's approval process efficiently.
→ Contact Pro Athletic Supply for a lighting quote
Common Court Lighting Purchasing Mistakes Schools and Facilities Make
Specifying without a photometric layout. A photometric layout is the only way to verify that a specific fixture, quantity, and layout will actually deliver the illuminance levels and uniformity ratio your facility requires. Purchasing fixtures without one is guessing — and getting it wrong means either a dimly lit court that underperforms or a system that's over-specified and over-budget.
Choosing fixtures without verifying DLC listing. Non-DLC-listed fixtures don't qualify for utility rebates — a potentially significant cost that makes a non-listed fixture significantly more expensive in total than a DLC-listed alternative at a similar purchase price. Always verify DLC listing before purchasing any fixture intended for a utility rebate application.
Underestimating electrical contractor lead times. Licensed electrical contractors capable of gymnasium and outdoor court lighting work are often booked weeks or months out — particularly during peak construction seasons. A lighting purchase placed in April for installation by September may not find available contractor capacity without starting the contractor sourcing process before the fixtures are ordered.
Not accounting for pole foundation costs in the outdoor budget. The fixture and pole purchase is one component of an outdoor court lighting project budget. Concrete foundation installation — which requires a separate contractor, excavation, concrete materials, and several days of work — is a significant additional cost that facilities managers frequently miss when initially scoping the project. Get a foundation cost estimate from a concrete contractor before finalizing the outdoor lighting project budget.
Purchasing outdoor fixtures without appropriate IP and surge ratings. A non-weather-rated fixture installed outdoors begins degrading immediately and fails years before its rated lifespan. A fixture without surge protection in a lightning-prone area will see LED driver failures that eliminate the lifetime cost advantage over legacy technology. Verify IP65 minimum rating and 10kV surge protection on any outdoor fixture before purchase.
Not pursuing utility rebates. Many institutional facilities complete LED lighting upgrades and only discover utility rebate programs after the application window has closed. The rebate application process requires some documentation, but for most projects, the rebate represents a meaningful reduction in net project cost. Contact your utility before installation — not after.
Skipping the permit process. Unpermitted electrical work and unpermitted structural foundations create compliance issues that can require removal and reinstallation at the facility's expense. More importantly, unpermitted work that hasn't been inspected creates potential liability in the event of an electrical failure or structural incident. Always permit — the process exists for good reasons.
Quick Reference: Court Lighting Specification by Application
| Application | Target FC | Uniformity (min:avg) | CRI | CCT | Fixture Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gymnasium — PE / recreational | 30–50 FC | 0.4+ | 65+ | 4,000–5,000K | LED high-bay |
| Gymnasium — JV competition | 50–75 FC | 0.5+ | 80+ | 4,000–5,000K | LED high-bay |
| Gymnasium — varsity competition | 75–100 FC | 0.5+ | 80+ | 4,000–5,000K | LED high-bay |
| Outdoor court — recreational | 20–30 FC | 0.3+ | 65+ | 4,000–5,700K | LED pole fixture |
| Outdoor court — interscholastic | 30–50 FC | 0.4+ | 70+ | 4,000–5,700K | LED pole fixture |
| Outdoor court — varsity / tournament | 50–75 FC | 0.5+ | 80+ | 4,000–5,700K | LED pole fixture |
The Bottom Line: Get the Specification Right Before the Purchase
Court lighting is the infrastructure category where the specification process matters most — because every decision has a 15 to 25-year consequence. A basketball hoop that's the wrong specification can be replaced. A lighting system that's installed in a gymnasium ceiling or anchored in concrete pole foundations is a multi-decade commitment to whatever was purchased.
The facilities that make this investment well — with photometric analysis, verified IES compliance, DLC-listed fixtures, properly engineered pole foundations, and a procurement process that builds in realistic contractor and permit timelines — end up with systems that deliver consistent athletic performance for decades and return their installation cost in energy savings before the halfway point of the system's life.
The facilities that buy on unit price, skip the photometric analysis, and discover the contractor timeline problem after the season has started spend the next decade managing a system that doesn't perform to what was intended — and face the same specification process again in 5 to 7 years when the underspecified system needs replacement.
At Pro Athletic Supply, we carry LED high-bay gymnasium fixtures and outdoor court pole lighting systems from the Dominator line — IES-compliant systems with 50,000+ hour rated lifespans, appropriate weatherproofing for outdoor applications, and DLC-listed specifications that support utility rebate applications. We provide photometric analysis support and formal quotes for institutional purchases, and we accept school purchase orders.
Find Your Court Lighting at Pro Athletic Supply
Whether you're upgrading an aging gymnasium system, adding lighting to an existing outdoor court, or specifying lighting for a new construction project — we carry the systems and the institutional support to get the specification right before you order.
