Case Study: Concordia University Upgrades their Sports Field Lighting with LEDVANCE Fixtures

February 11, 2026

Founded in 1974 and serving nearly 45,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 150 countries, Montreal-based Concordia University offers more than 100 different academic tracks as well as a diverse array of athletics and other extracurricular activities.  In addition to providing students with an outstanding curriculum filled with extensive opportunities to connect with the world around them, the university also takes great pride in its commitment to sustainability goals and achievement of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. 

Outdated and inefficient lighting on the campus’s football field – home of the Concordia Stingers – posed a challenge to the school’s sustainability objectives and impaired the experience for student athletes, coaches, and spectators alike, so the school embarked on an LED upgrade in the stadium.  Today, thanks to support from leading LED manufacturer LEDVANCE and a range of industry professionals, the university’s new lighting helps the Stingers bring their A-game every time and has significantly reduced the school’s carbon footprint while elevating its brand and image for generations to come.

“Our project involved a lighting upgrade on the primary field used for our varsity football, soccer, rugby, and men’s and women’s field hockey teams,” shared Brendan O’Neill, Concordia University’s Manager of Internal Expert Services, which provides the university with engineering, architectural, and design services and is responsible for managing 74 buildings across two campuses.  “The field additionally serves the university’s intramurals teams and is also used in the summer for community purposes like day camps and municipal sports leagues.”

According to O’Neill, the previous lighting on the field – which consisted of a system of 144 1,500-Watt metal halide lamps positioned on nine 65-foot-high poles — was less than desirable for a long time.

“Many of the lamps were out, so the lighting quality was poor,” O’Neill confirmed.  “Our electricians or subcontractors had to go up on lifts to change them, and we had a hard time procuring the lamps as well due to delivery delays and costs.  Our varsity teams start up in fall, when the days get shorter, making the evening hours important for playing games, so those lights are more critical than ever,” he said.  “While our lighting system was functional enough when the bulbs were replaced, our operations team found the system difficult and costly to maintain.”

By 2022, the need for higher-performing and more efficient lighting on the Stingers field turned into a formal university project request.

“In support of ‘PLAN/NET ZERØ’ — our university’s proactive approach to the decarbonization of our facilities and activities — we’re encouraged to achieve our sustainability goals,” O’Neill said.   

After creating plans and specs for their lighting upgrade, the project went to public tender for bids and got underway in 2022-2023.  The university chose to work with Longueuil, Quebec-based architectural lighting firm Luxtec, which supported the project’s product needs through their active collaboration with Gatineau, Quebec-based electrical distributor Groupe Specs.

Project Overview

Objective

Upgrade the outdated metal halide (HID) lamps illuminating the main sports field at Montreal-based Concordia University with high-performing, energy-efficient, long-lasting, and low-maintenance LED Sports Lights from leading LED manufacturer LEDVANCE

Products Installed

134 400-1200-Watt, 4000K LEDVANCE LED Sports Light fixtures in a range of 3×3, 4×4, and 5×5 beam distributions.

Features & Benefits

• LEDVANCE LED Sports Lights successfully slashed lighting energy consumption on Concordia University’s main field by 100kW annually, reducing energy costs and supporting the school’s “PLAN/NET ZERØ” sustainability goals
• The upgrade involved a simple one-for-one changeout and LEDVANCE LEDs were easy to install
• Thanks to their high efficiency and DLC 5.1 Premium certification by the Design Lights Consortium (DLC), the project’s LEDVANCE LED Sports Lights were eligible for a significant rebate from local utility Hydro Quebec
• Payback on the lighting upgrade occurred (or will occur) in the forthcoming years thanks to the energy and maintenance cost savings driven by LEDVANCE’s LED Sports Lights
• The fixtures’ 4000K color temperature promotes both high visibility and an inviting ambiance, while their 3×3, 4×4, and 5×5 beam distributions ensure optimal lighting coverage on the field
• The new LED lighting system can be conveniently controlled remotely from a tablet or another electronic device
• The fixtures’ long 150,000-hour life will significantly reduce maintenance costs and concerns for Concordia University for years to come

Solution

Confirmed by the photometric studies and lighting audit they performed, “the colour consistency and distribution of the lighting on the field were poor and not up to a university level,” said David Hamel, Lighting Specification & Control Manager at Luxtec.  “Based on the size of the field and the number of users, we needed a lighting system that was stronger, more uniform, more efficient, and more in alignment with Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) recommendations.”

Working with Concordia’s O’Neill, electrical engineers from Montreal-based Dupras Ledoux, and Groupe Specs, the team opted for a collection of 134 400-1200-Watt, 4000K LEDVANCE LED Sports Light fixtures in 3×3, 4×4, and 5×5 beam distributions for optimized coverage.  DLC 5.1 Premium-certified by the DesignLights Consortium and rated for 150,000 hours, the LEDVANCE fixtures were chosen for their reliability, performance, and ability to meet the demanding standards of athletic facilities.

Incorporating compatible controls, the new lighting system can be controlled remotely via a tablet — a function which enables the university staff to turn the lights on and off and dim them to 50% during halftime for additional energy savings.

“Every fixture also came with a laser for aiming purposes, which is helpful, and LEDVANCE’s customer service and technical experts were always there to help us with any issue,” Hamel said.

Results

Following completion of the one-to-one lighting upgrade in late 2024 by Quebec-based electrical contracting firm Groupe LML, the team has been pleased with the results.

“Thanks to our upgrade, we reduced energy consumption on the field by 100kW annually, which has driven substantial reductions in maintenance and operational costs and helped ensure that the project is both a financial and sustainability success,” said Concordia’s Brendan O’Neill, whose team was able to further reduce project costs by reusing the existing wiring from the previous lighting system.

“Our lighting was patchy in the past due to failed bulbs with varying intensities, so our players appreciate the new and consistent lighting across the field,” shared Darren Finny, Concordia University’s Manager of Facilities Planning and Development, Recreation and Athletics, adding that his team historically had to replace 10-15 bulbs each year and rent expensive equipment to access them.  “Our new remotely controllable/automatic lighting system also represents an improvement in that no additional staff are needed just to manage the lights.”

“This was a great project that ran smoothly, and the university is happy with the results,” noted Luxtec’s David Hamill.  “LEDVANCE has a strong line of sports lighting products that make upgrades like this very quick and easy using just 4-5 SKUs.”

From an environmental perspective, Concordia’s O’Neill said that the upgrade will make meaningful progress towards meeting the university’s ambitious sustainability goals.

“Freeing up electricity from our lighting allows it to be used for heating, cooling, and other purposes and helps our university support the global challenge of reducing fossil fuel consumption,” he explained.

“Thanks to coordination between LEDVANCE, our project managers, distributor, and contractors, our bright, efficient, and inviting new LED lighting has upgraded the quality of play on our field,” O’Neill confirmed.  “In our profession of providing building services, it often costs more money and/or requires more energy to get a better result, but in this case, we achieved a better outcome while reducing both energy costs and consumption”

“This project was a total win-win,” agreed Martin Leclair, Eastern Region Account Manager for LEDVANCE.  “It’s a success story that will serve Concordia University well for years and a great example of what can be done at all schools and universities.”

---

LEDVANCE US & CANADA | SYLVANIA General Lighting | LEDVANCE