The wooden poles are warping and the lights installed on them around 40 years ago at the Interbay Playfield aren't up to current standards, according to Seattle Parks and Recreation.
And replacing lighting on the field was identified as a high priority in a 2001 Ballfield Lighting Study the parks department commissioned, said Kim Baldwin, the manager of the project.
Speaking at a sparsely attended public meeting on Oct. 24, she also noted that Seattle Pacific University teamed up with the city in the 1990s to put in a new lighting system at the nearby soccer stadium.
It's time the Interbay Playfield got the same treatment, according to Chris Fote, a Sparling Inc. ballfield-lighting designer working on the project.
"This system is well beyond its lifespan," he said, adding that the poles and the lights are in bad shape. "The goal is to provide a new lighting system that reduces the impact on the community."
The new generation of lighting has better shielding and better reflectors that help reduce glare, Fote added. The underground wiring will also be replaced, and the wooden poles will be replaced by galvanized-steel poles. Concrete wasn't considered for the poles because it is too expensive, he said.
The height of the poles will be reduced to 80 feet at the highest, and they will be 60 to 70 feet high at the south end of the field, Fote said. "We're going to get down to 11 poles [from the current 14], and there will be up to 12 lights on each pole," he said.
The new system will be designed to have a lifespan of at least 30 years, and according to Baldwin it will cost $629,800 for planning, public involvement, design and construction.
The lights also can be turned on separately, depending on how much of the field needs to be lighted for the individual sports played there, she said.
The lights, as they are now, can be set to go on and off by timers, and they can also be turned on or off remotely with a cellphone, according to parks.
The next step in the process is to go through two technical reviews of the project this winter and next spring. Assuming there aren't any hitches, construction is scheduled to begin next summer and be completed next fall.
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