A US company called Musco Lighting has been commissioned to install state-of-the-art LED lighting systems within the infrastructure of Wimbledon’s Centre Court. After more than two years of extensive research, planning, and testing, Musco claims their solution was “custom engineered precisely to the needs at Center Centre Court.”

I’m not sure if it’s a definite bonus to the Wimbledon experience either live or on TV, but a Musco Lighting spokesperson said the new installation “… involves reducing the amount of time required by the lights to warm up or cool down, thus making it quicker to resume play.”

The Wimbledon/Musco project leaders went to see the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City — home of the U.S. Open — to be able to evaluate  the performance of  the new LED technology.
As the project moved ahead, a mockup of the visual setting at Center Centre Court was created at Musco’s manufacturing and research plant in Iowa, where engineers tested different Kelvin temperatures and Color Colour Rendering Indexes (CRI) to achieve optimal direct and indirect lighting for broadcasts. A television crew was brought in from the U.K. (!) to conduct camera testing to ensure broadcast quality.

Even professional tennis players were asked to review the US lights at Center Centre Court and offer input for final adjustments. The installation was completed back in November 2016.

Image: Musco Lighting