July/August 2020 - 7

LIGHTING IT UP
How one school district upgraded
their stadium experience
For school districts across the
country, the ability to host sporting
events at night, with properly lit fields
and stadiums, has become a priority. In
2017, the Danville Area School District
in Danville, Pennsylvania, began a
renovation of their multipurpose
stadium, Ironman Stadium, with lighting
being a top priority.
Rick Engle, who was the facilities
director at the Danville Area School
District for 21 years before recently
retiring, handled " anything and
everything " that dealt with the facilities,
grounds and sports venues owned
by the district. When watching TV,
Engle said he saw a shot of Ironman
Stadium - which is mainly used for
football, soccer and lacrosse - that
ultimately led him to begin researching
alternative lighting options.
" Before we did the project, I saw
our field on TV with HID (high intensity
discharge) lights, and our field looked
yellow, " Engle said. " Our field was a
nice green field, with nice grass and
everything, but with those HIDs it just
looked bad. "
After utilizing the Keystone
Purchasing Network and ultimately
deciding to work with Musco Sports
Lighting on the project, Engle said the
process began with some site visits
of previously completed projects with
Jordan Pierce of Musco. " I loved the
work that they did (on those projects)
with new LED lighting, " Engle said.
From there, Musco worked with
Engle to help identify the lighting needs
for Ironman Stadium, and got started on
installing new LED lighting systems to
brighten the field - even taking care of
any post-project issues the district had.
Following installation of the new LED
lighting, the district did a field survey
to determine the quality of the job and
noticed that, although the field was
lit perfectly, there were " harsh " lines
where the light cut off - creating what
Engle described as " almost a dark wall "
between the lighted area and some of
the seating and walkways.
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" On our project, they did a fantastic
job with our new lighting - our field
looked unbelievable when they were
done, " Engle said. " We had that one
issue, and it really may not have even
been Musco's issue. But they flew
someone in and he got a lift in there,
and right before our second game,
redirected a couple of the lights to get
some lighting in those dark areas. It
really wasn't a part of their contract,
but they took care of it for us anyway. "
When it came to finding the right
partner for the project, Engle said that
using the Keystone Purchasing Network
had many benefits, which ultimately led
to the district getting a quality project
completed with virtually no issues.
But the ability to work directly with
manufacturers who value quality was
what Engle said he valued the most.
" With KPN, it's like a fast track - you
don't have to go through the whole
bidding process and jump through 10
different hoops to get some of this
stuff done, " Engle said. " And pricing
wasn't everything. The quality is the
first thing we look at, as well as the
service and the warranty. Musco,
which we found through KPN, certainly
got five stars in all of those areas. "
The KPN purchasing program
has been helping school districts
for over 45 years. When school
districts use KPN preferred vendors,
they're working with vendors whose
employees have been fully vetted and
passed background checks, making
the process seamless. All bids will
also comply with federal, state and
local laws.
For more information about KPN,
visit www.theKPN.org.
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July/August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2020
