Chesterfield Hockey Chesterfield, Derbyshire - UK

Ahead of the curve

Energy prices are a concern for almost every organisation right now. For sports venues in particular, where floodlights can be running for hundreds (and even thousands) of hours per year, the rising cost of power is a particular concern. It was smart thinking on the part of Chesterfield Hockey Club, then, when the decision was made in October 2021 to pre-empt those impending price hikes by upgrading its old lighting system.

Dating back to the mid-2000s, not only was that system struggling to deliver an adequate standard of lighting, it was also becoming much more expensive to run. Power consumption was part of that conundrum, the ageing luminaries drawing an excessive amount of energy, but so too was maintenance – a problem exacerbated by the fact that the club’s masts – which should have lowered to the ground – had rusted and become stuck in place.

A fast path to payback

Introduced by governing body England Hockey, Midstream created a design that navigated both of those challenges, as well as some of the specific circumstances of the Chesterfield pitch. Not only were the masts fixed in place, for instance, they were also embedded in a bank of earth and bordered by endangered evergreens – issues that required the services of a groundwork’s crew and tree surgeon to deal with effectively.

Elsewhere, clever design has helped to deliver health and safety improvements for players of all ages. With an additional floodlight providing coverage for the walk from the pitch to the car park, the person left to close up for the night had been faced with making that journey in the dark. The addition of a timer, in addition to a better standard of lighting overall, means that trip is now much safer for everyone.

With the internal wiring of each of the club’s masts also updated, Chesterfield now benefits from a futureproof, FIH approved system that’s delivering real savings – and a return on investment that could be realised in as little as two years.