Ephesus, Shawnee present LED sports-lighting proposal for Alva fields

Dylan Muni of Ephesus Sports Lighting and Seth Morgan of Premier Lighting presented a turnkey LED sports-lighting proposal to the Alva Economic Development Authority, outlining retrofits for multiple baseball, softball and soccer fields and financing options through Sourcewell procurement.

The presentation emphasized reuse of existing poles where possible, a wireless mesh control system that allows remote scheduling and per-fixture dimming, a 10-year product warranty and an optional 10-year labor warranty. Muni described the fixtures as engineered LED units with silicone optics designed to reduce lens degradation and direct light to play surfaces. "We are an actual lighting manufacturer…these are highly, highly engineered fixtures," Muni said.

Why it matters: the board is evaluating a multisite lighting upgrade that would reduce energy use, enable remote control of individual fields and could make the complex more competitive for tournaments that require specific light levels. The presenters provided a Sourcewell contract price and a mock lease-purchase example from NCL Government Capital to show how the purchase could be financed.

Key points from the presentation included a 1-for-1 replacement approach for metal-halide fixtures, roughly halving wattage per fixture while meeting design photometrics; the use of silicone optics to limit yellowing and reduce long-term lumen loss; and a modular fixture design with redundant drivers so a single driver failure reduces output rather than producing a full outage. Muni said the fixtures are rated for 55,000 hours, which he characterized as roughly 25 years of typical use, with an expected 8% lumen depreciation over that period.

In questions, board members and staff pressed about field maintenance, warranty coverage and labor costs. The presenters said damaged fixtures are typically swapped for a replacement fixture and repaired off-site; power-supply or driver failures would be handled under product warranty with an option to add a labor warranty that covers replacement work. The proposal included an illustrative per-fixture labor-warranty figure and a separate optional 10-year labor warranty; the presenter estimated a rough labor-warranty price of about $250 per fixture (per the vendor mock-up) and said one fixture retail figure in the presentation materials was "probably in the $111,200 range" (presenter estimate as quoted at the meeting).

No board action was taken at the meeting. The presenters left printed proposals and asked the board to schedule a follow-up to compare vendor quotes side by side.