At NALMCO's Phoenix convention, Northwest Edison received an NLB Transformation Award of Excellence for the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse retrofit. EdisonReport covered the presentation on October 13.
The report says the lighting level rose from about 20 to 125 footcandles for television audiences. The project used Meteor fixtures and Lutron Vive controls.
What the reported figures show
That is roughly 6.25 times the reported starting illuminance. The source provides no fixture count, installed load, project cost, or post-installation energy data.
We should treat this as an illuminance and controls example, not proof of energy savings. A brighter target can serve a specific use case, while energy impact depends on the design and operating schedule.
Questions to carry into a retrofit brief
If you are planning a venue or high-bay retrofit, begin with activity zones and maintained lux or footcandle targets. Ask the designer to document calculations, glare criteria, control scenes, and commissioning measurements.
Then compare connected load, dimming range, sensor behavior, and maintenance access. Request the assumptions behind any savings estimate, and check them against your actual operating hours.
For a bulk order, confirm that the approved sample matches the photometric file and control configuration. We would verify these details before approving production quantities.
Jim Thorpe is a useful reference for matching visual targets with controls and audience needs. It is not a published cost or payback study.
Source
- EdisonReport: NALMCO Convention and NLB Transformation Award (October 13, 2026)