CBS2 Exclusive: New LED Lights Set To Illuminate Yankee Stadium
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Yankees fans are about to watch games in a whole new light.
As CBS2's Sonia Rincon reported Thursday, new LED technology will change the game both in person and at home.
Chopper 2 got a first look Thursday night at the stadium after dark – with the field illuminated by brand new LED lights.
In the light of day, they look like small square panels -- nearly 1,400 of them around the edge.
Stadium Operations Vice President Doug Behar said the new lights will upgrade the viewing experience at the game and on TV -- with a truer, more natural-looking light.
"The color of the grass – the green – will be the true green. The white uniforms will pop. The pinstripes, the blue will pop even more," Behar said.
Behar said the new lights are also 40 percent more energy efficient.
"Enough to power up about 45 homes every day, so it's a considerable amount of energy that we're saving," he said.
And it is not just Yankee fans in the stands and at watching home who will notice the different lighting. If you come to Yankee Stadium for a concert, you might see the light panels dancing with you – as they can be choreographed to music.
The company behind the upgrade, Plan LED, showed CBS2 a demonstration of what the lights can do.
The field as of Thursday was ready for The Pinstripe Bowl, where the lights will make their debut.
Yankee Stadium is the second Major League Baseball stadium to switch to LED field lights.
"The Seattle Mariners did it. It went incredibly well. Their feedback was tremendous – from fans, the players, broadcasters," Behar said. "The good news for us is we've had a little bit of time to improve even on the technology that they have."
Each of the panels is pointed and positioned for precision. That means less glare, which the stadium's neighbors also might appreciate.
"The light doesn't escape on the way down," Behar said. "It goes where it is intended to go."
Next month, the blue Yankee Stadium lettered signs will be next to go LED. They will greet fans driving by and waving until it's time for opening day.
