Field Lights Shine

A revolutionary change to campus life came late last fall: the addition of field lights.

Concordia Irvine has never had field lights, let alone the newly-installed, top-of-the-line high-performance LED stadium lights made possible by a gift from an anonymous family. These lights won’t just allow Eagles teams like soccer, lacrosse, softball and baseball to play night games — it will affect the daily academic schedule and what kind of crowds the games draw. 

The new lights stand 45 to 90 feet tall and are NCAA-approved for night games. They are extremely high-powered with very little “spill” of light into other areas. 

“Just the playing field is illuminated,” says Tim Odle, Vice President of University Operations, Enrollment, and Athletics. “And there are no bugs.” 

The lights immediately extend the academic day. Up to now, all Eagles athletics practices had to start by 1 or 2 p.m. to take advantage of the daylight. Now, practices can be held into the evening, opening up afternoon classes for athletes. 

“It changes everything,” Odle says. “Instead of playing a doubleheader game and students missing an entire day of school, we can start games later in the day. This changes our student and campus culture, giving more options for students to take classes or do intramural sports under the lights instead of having their athletics schedule competing with their classes.” 

Late games will also allow fans to come after work and sit under the (bug-less) lights for an evening of entertainment and socializing with other Eagles supporters. Once the pandemic ends, of course.