Cricket authorities in particular wanted to promote day/night matches for television audiences, but the initiative also proved extremely beneficial for football, and both sports played their first matches under the MCG lights in 1985.
Now an instantly recognisable landmark of Melbourne, the lights have revolutionised sport at the ground and become an integral part of stadium operations, night cricket and football proving immensely popular with the sporting public.
Installation
The construction of the light towers was completed in December 1984 in a joint initiative between the MCC and Cricket Victoria.
The MCG was first lit up at 9:30pm on the night of December 3, 1984 by the then State Premier and MCG Trustee the Honourable John Cain.
The MCG light towers were first used for an event on February 17, 1985 for a World Championship of Cricket match between Australia and England.
Construction
The light tower system comprises of six light towers which stand approximately 75 metres high (equivalent to a 24-story building) with the head frame a further 10 metres higher (85 metres overall).
The foundations for the towers consist of four reinforced concrete piers which are set down in depth from seven to 12 metres depending on the sub surface structure. Each of the hollow tubular steel towers contains about 130 tonnes of steel. The diameter reduces from 4.2 metres at the base to two metres at the top.
There are between 12 and 14 landings connecting ladders inside each tower. The head frames of the towers are angled in at 15 degrees in order to provide optimum levels of light.
Power
Power to the light towers is supplied off an 11kV electrical ring main into a transformer inside the base of each tower, which reduces the voltage down to 415 volts. The total power consumption at any given time is approximately 1800 Kilowatts.
Total consumption for a year would be approximately 360,000kWh, this is based upon a running time of 400 hours over a twelve month term.
Due to the configuration of the power supply at the ground it is a highly unlikely that power would be lost to the whole ground as we have multiple feeds supplying the ground. Portions of Melbourne would also lose power if there were to be an interruption of power supply.
LED Upgrade
In 2020, the MCG light towers underwent a modern makeover, while still retaining their iconic look and feel.
The Melbourne Cricket Club, ground manager of the MCG, invested $11 million in the project, which saw 1200 metal halide lamps nearing their end of life removed, and 950 LED lights installed in their place.
The new LED technology provides a number of benefits including:
- Better viewing experience for fans in the MCG stands, with increased brightness, clarity and accurate reflection
- Enhanced broadcast crispness and quality, in particular for the presentation of slow motion vision
- Greater speed when turning the towers on and off (as is the case during the annual ANZAC Day Eve AFL match) – the current lights have a 15 minute turnaround time for the globes to cool.
- Flexibility for lighting output, with the LED lights able to be dimmed and brightened to suit the environmental conditions, for example an overcast day versus a night event.
- Less light spill out of the arena and greater focus on the field of play due to the new light configuration.
The new LED technology is also in keeping with the MCG’s overarching focus on sustainable practices. The new lights are approximately 50 per cent more energy efficient than the old globes and also have a much longer lifespan, meaning less need for replacements and therefore less waste.
