New Floodlights at Lords

Watching the cricket on TV the other day I saw the new floodlighting scheme at Lords cricket ground in London.  Is this the sexiest piece of sports lighting in the world?

4 masts, each holding 100 x 2kW metal halide floodlights produce 2200 lux at the wicket and 1500 lux at the boundary.  The arrangement of fixtures echo the form of the Media Centre by architect Future Systems.

Planning permission was a significant hurdle for the project.  The residents of the exclusive suburb of St John’s Wood where the ground is located are known to have strong views regarding new buildings in their back yard.    The visual impact of the scheme has been lessened by making the heads retractable on a telescopic mast which sit near the height of the grandstand (around 30m) when not in use and raise up to 50m during operation.

See a video of the  Lords floodlighting installation