Yarrow Stadium’s new LED lights cast shadow over Taranaki’s 34-24 win against Manawatu – Stuff
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Taranaki celebrate a scrum win during the round seven Bunnings NPC match against Manawatu at Yarrow Stadium on Friday, September 16.
Yarrow Stadium’s new LED lights have become a talking point after Taranaki’s 34-24 win against Manawatu – but not for the reason stadium owner the Taranaki Regional Council would want.
The new bulbs, part of the stadium’s $70 million revamp, are supposedly 50 per cent brighter and use 30 per cent less power than those they replaced on the four towers surrounding the pitch.
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Micaiah Torrance-Read of Manawatu charges forward.
But on Friday night they cast obvious shadows across the pitch, with pockets of darkness including a large patch in the middle of the field and in the in-goals.
Not all the lights on the towers were turned on either, and the sidelines seemed to be the brightest areas of the ground.
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Bulls fans wrapped up warm for Friday’s match.
This may have raised eyebrows for the competition’s broadcaster Sky Television. Evening matches must be played under a certain illuminance level (lux).
Minimum club rugby lux level is 160, with the Rugby World Cup level at 1500, which is what the previous lights at Yarrow Stadium were to host matches during the 2011 World Cup.
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Luke Campbell, of Manawatu, scores a try.
While it is not yet known what the lux level was on Friday night, it was also clear on the coverage that the ground was unusually darker.
Peter Moffitt was watching the game on TV at home in Oakura and said it looked more like training lights than game lighting.
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Luke Campbell, of Manawatu, looks on.
“It was quite noticeable,” he said. “There were four distinct shadows that the players cast. There seemed to be some dull patches.
“I thought, What’s going on here?”
Other fans took to social media to express their concern.
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Daniel Waite of Taranaki runs the ball.
The Taranaki Regional Council has been approached for …….