Bethany Church Baseball Field — LED Lighting Upgrade | Reliant Electrical & Automation
Fresno, CA · Sports Lighting · April 2026
From Flicker
to Floodlight
Bethany Church’s baseball field goes dark no more — a complete lamp-for-lamp upgrade from 1000W metal halide to high-efficiency LED sports lighting.
8Poles serviced
60%+Energy reduction
2-dayInstallation
The project
The ballfield at Bethany Church had served its community for years under the orange glow of aging 1000-watt metal halide sports lights — but those lamps were long overdue for a reckoning.
Metal halide fixtures like these take 15–20 minutes to warm up, lose 30–50% of their output before the bulb even fails, and draw enormous power around the clock once lit. For a church running youth leagues, practices, and community events after sunset, that means higher electric bills, uneven light across the field, and the frustrating wait every time someone flips the switch.
Reliant Electrical & Automation was brought in to solve all of it over two days. Working from a 45-foot boom lift, our crew went pole to pole — pulling the old MH fixtures, swapping in new LED sports luminaires, and re-aiming every lamp for proper field coverage — before the sun went down on day two and the team asked us to energize the system for the first time.
At height
The old technology
1000W Metal Halide:
The Hidden Cost
At peak output, a single 1000-watt metal halide lamp draws closer to 1,100 watts when you factor in the ballast. Scale that across eight poles with multiple fixtures each, and you’re running a serious energy load for every hour the field is in use — plus the warm-up time before play can even start.
Worse, MH lamps lose lumen output steadily throughout their rated life. A lamp that measured 110,000 lumens at install may be putting out 65,000 by the time it “fails.” That means the field is darker than design spec for most of its life, and the people paying the bill don’t know it.
The ballasts we pulled told the whole story — years of heat cycling, oxidized connections, and lamp sockets worn from repeated restrike cycles.
Project Specifications
| Location | Bethany Church Baseball Field — 9161 N Maple Ave, Fresno, CA 93720 |
| Scope | Full sports lighting retrofit — lamp, ballast, and driver replacement |
| Previous | 1000W Metal Halide (magnetic ballast) — 8 poles, multiple fixtures per pole |
| Replaced with | High-efficiency LED sports luminaires LED |
| Access | 45-ft articulating boom lift — two-person crew, 2-day install |
| Energy savings | 60%+ estimated reduction in field lighting energy consumption |
| Restrike time | Instant-on — no restrike delay (MH requires 5–15 min cool-down before restarting after any power interruption) |
| Lamp life | 50,000+ hours rated — vs. 10,000–15,000 for metal halide |
| Contractor | Reliant Electrical and Automation Inc. · CSLB #1128802 · Fresno, CA |
40 feet up — the infield and outfield stretching out below, and the Sierra Nevada visible on the horizon. Not a bad office for a day’s work.
“Metal halide has a restrike problem most people don’t think about until it bites them — if the power blips during a game, even for a second, the field goes completely dark and stays that way for 15 minutes while the lamps cool down enough to re-ignite. LEDs just come back on. Instantly.”
First light
Field-Ready at Dusk
We finished the last fixture with just enough daylight left to watch the field transition. The maintenance crew was already out grading the infield, and a group of young players was warming up in the outfield. The moment we energized the poles, it was obvious the upgrade had worked — even before dark, the field was reading brighter, more even, and with none of the harsh orange cast the old MH lamps put out.
As the sky deepened into navy and the outfield lights came fully into their own, it became clear this wasn’t just an energy project. The players out there had a genuinely better space to play.
Bethany Church baseball field — first night under the new LEDs, April 2026.
Why it matters
Sports Lighting Done Right
Athletic field lighting is one of the highest-ROI electrical upgrades a school, church, or park can make. The energy savings alone — typically 60% or more — often pay for the project within four to six years. Factor in eliminated lamp replacements, eliminated ballast maintenance, and the end of warm-up delays, and the math gets even better.
But the less quantifiable benefit is the one that matters most: giving athletes a safer, better-lit space to train and compete. Uniform illumination means fewer shadows, better visibility for players tracking a ball in the air, and more confidence for coaches running late-evening sessions.
Reliant handles sports lighting projects of all sizes across Fresno and the Central Valley — from single-pole replacements to full multi-field redesigns with photometric planning and permitting. If your facility is still running metal halide, it’s time to have a conversation.
Ready to light up
your field?
We serve schools, churches, parks, and commercial facilities across the Central Valley. Free site assessment available.
Reliant Electrical and Automation Inc. · CSLB #1128802 · Fresno, CA Reliant Electrical & Automation