The Mariners, Safeco Field, to be the First in MLB with LED Lights

Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners, has been one of the most energy-efficient ballparks in baseball in recent years. The ballpark is always top-3 in both energy efficiency and recycling.

But now, Safeco Field looks to further bolster its ‘green’ name by converting the big flood lights perched atop the roof and awnings with LED lights.

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Safeco Field will become the first ballpark, and the Seattle Mariners will become the first major league baseball team, to install LED lights to illuminate the playing field.

This change was announced by team officials on Tuesday, January 21. What’s more exciting, the LED light replacement has already been completed, and the Mariners will use the new and improved stadium lighting at the upcoming FanFest from January 24-25.

The Mariners switched to LED lighting with the approval and support of Major League Baseball, as club research estimates a 60 to 70% reduction in energy consumption by the lighting in Safeco Field. 60 to 70% sounds pretty darn good to me.

But, if you were thinking of bragging to your friends about the Mariners being the first to go green on lights, Safeco Field is not the first major sports venue to make the environmentally friendly switch.NRG stadium in Houston uses LEDs. The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona– where the Seahawks will play in the Super Bowl on February 1– uses LED lights. And the Staples center in Los Angeles, where both the Lakers and the Clippers play, uses LED lights as well.

Even still, this is a pretty cool distinction in a sport where more than half the games are played under artificial lighting.

And if you’re wondering whether or not the lights will have an effect on players’ ability to see the ball in the air or out of the pitcher’s hand, that remains to be seen. Though don’t expect it to make any major difference, except maybe saving the Mariners a few thousand dollars each month on their lighting bill.