Bright southern lights
In 1966, Atlanta and its newly constructed municipal stadium welcomed the Braves Major League Baseball team, and later, a football expansion team: the Falcons. Known as Atlanta Stadium, the 52,769-seat, $18 million facility featured a dual lighting system with 2,328 floodlights using 1,500-watt lamps, according to the February 1967 issue of The American City. The Braves — because of the span of the field and the size and speed of the ball — required 1,608 lights, and Falcons night games only used 720 lights. The stadium included footcandles on the field — 350 for the Braves and 100 for the Falcons.
After more than 30 years of sporting events, including the 1995 World Series, the facility that in 1977 was re-named Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was demolished in 1997 and converted into a parking lot for nearby Turner Field. Originally dubbed Olympic Stadium — the site of the track and field events during the 1996 Olympic Games — Turner Field hosts mainly Braves baseball games, and the Falcons moved to the Georgia Dome. During night games, Turner Field is illuminated with 432, 1,800-watt metal halide lamps. The system uses 300 footcandles in the infield and about 200 in the outfield. Turner Field often hosts other events, such as conferences, but to reduce costs, field lighting is reserved for baseball games.