Musco Lighting

Musco was founded in 1976 by Joe Crookham and Myron Gordin. Crookham was an attorney, and Gordin an engineer. Their partnership began in 1968 when they founded a startup business venture named G&L Industries.[1] G&L Industries designed and manufactured industrial tools, including its original product which was a retractable scriber, and sold the tools under their customers' brand names.

In 1976 Crookham and Gordin decided to explore new ventures and identified the lighting industry as a promising possibility. They purchased the Muscatine Lighting and Manufacturing Company in Muscatine, Iowa.

After launching the newly re-named Musco Lighting, the team determined that it would specialize in the lighting of sports fields and facilities. They simplified the previous company's product line to focus on its sports lighting system that included a cluster of fixtures, also known as luminaires, using High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps mounted to metal crossarms, forming a luminaire assembly that was mounted at the top of a pole. Musco introduced its newly redesigned SportsCluster system in 1977 at a rodeo arena in Duncan, Arizona.

Over the next few years, the system was installed at other small fields and facilities around the country. Musco continued working to improve the technology and installation, as well as a process to aim all of a system's fixtures in the factory, customized to each field's size and dimensions. Musco also focused on how to develop better light control to reduce light pollution on areas next to sports fields.

Entering the 1980s, Musco continued working to improve its SportsCluster system, while also moving ahead on the development of a mobile sports lighting product. In 1980, the team tested its original mobile lighting system at the University of Iowa's Kinnick Stadium. Two years later, executives from ABC Sports, who had been at the system's test in Iowa City, contacted Musco about utilizing the company's mobile lighting at Notre Dame Stadium for a game the following season between the University of Notre Dame and the University of Michigan.[2] [3] [4]

Over the next five months, Musco's team worked to complete its mobile lighting technology. The system consisted of a truck fitted with a 150-foot hydraulic boom, with an array of 6,000 watt HID luminaires mounted at the top of the boom.

Throughout the 1980s, Musco’s mobile lighting system, which was named the Musco Light, was used at other venues, events, and on the production sets of motion pictures including All the Right Moves[5] and Field of Dreams.[6] For its work on movie sets, Musco received an Emmy Award and an Academy Award[7] for scientific and engineering achievement in film lighting. The Musco Light was also utilized at Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The rest of the decade saw Musco evolve its technology and introduce the SportsCluster2 system, along with new technologies designed to further reduce glare including its Level-8 and Total Light Control products. The company began work on a complete-system approach, in which it would oversee the manufacturing of its own poles and pre-cast concrete base. Other notable events that featured Musco’s lighting that decade included the 1983 Super Bowl, the 1984 Olympic Games[8], and the rededication ceremony for the Statue of Liberty.[9] Musco also provided temporary lighting for the inauguration ceremony of President Bush in 1988.

At the onset of the 1990s, Musco was continuing its work on a complete-system approach to sports lighting. In 1991, the company introduced its Light-Structure System, which included the poletop luminaire assembly, galvanized steel pole, wire harness, electrical components enclosure, and pre-cast concrete base.

The system was installed at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the 1992 Little League World Series.[10] This led to a partnership between Musco and Little League Baseball and Softball focused on player safety initiatives.[11]

Also in 1991, Musco was contacted by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) to develop a lighting system for a race the following year at Charlotte Motor Speedway.[12] It would be the first night race in NASCAR history.[13] [14] To help development of the system, Musco built a 50:1 scale model of the track at its manufacturing plant in Iowa, and company co-founder Myron Gordin enrolled in the Richard Petty NASCAR driving school to witness the demands of sight lines at high speeds. The project led to the creation of Musco’s Mirtran system, which featured lights that were aimed away from the track onto secondary, ground-level mirrors which bounced the light back onto the racing surface. The project earned Musco an IES Illumination Award for Outdoor Lighting Design by the Illuminating Engineering Society.[15]

Throughout the 1990s, Musco’s Mirtran technology was installed at other NASCAR tracks, including Richmond Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Daytona International Speedway.[16] [17] The decade also brought about the company’s first global expansion, with a lighting system installed at Dunstall Park Wolverhampton Racecourse in England. Queen Elizabeth II attended the unveiling event and dedicated the new lighting at the track.[18] Musco also installed systems at facilities in Australia, Asia, India, and Latin America.

In 1995 when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was bombed in a domestic terror attack, members of Musco’s mobile lighting team were dispatched to the site.[19] The crew worked in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide lighting for rescue and recovery efforts.

In 1996, Musco installed lighting systems at several venues of the Olympic Games in Atlanta.

As the 1990s came to a close, Musco introduced its Light-Structure System 2 product, and 10-year parts and labor warranty. The company also launched its Control-Link controls and monitoring service to turn lights on and off remotely per customer schedules.

During the 2000s Musco opened production facilities in China and South Korea and expanded its team to include regionally-based lighting technicians throughout the United States and other countries.

On September 11, 2001, after the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, several of Musco’s mobile lighting trucks assisted with rescue and recovery efforts at both sites.[20] Four mobile lighting trucks went to Ground Zero in New York City to provide lighting for crews working through the nights. Two additional mobile lighting trucks were at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

In 2005 the company introduced its Light-Structure Green technology which was designed to be a more energy-efficient sports lighting system, with the first installation taking place at North Naples Regional Park in Florida. Musco also began offering a 25-year parts and labor warranty on its lighting systems in 2005.

The following year, Musco started development of a lighting system to be donated for use at the Washington Monument, adapting its Mirtan technology to be applied vertically to illuminate the monument’s façade.[21]

In 2008 Musco started research and development on the utilization of light emitting diodes (LED) as a light source for sports fields and other large outdoor applications. Later that year, Musco donated a custom LED system for use in lighting the façade of the White House.[22]

At the close of the decade, Musco installed Mirtran systems at Losail International Circuit[23] in Qatar and Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.[24]

In 2010, Musco partnered with the National Park Service in the construction of a Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, donating lighting systems for the Memorial Plaza, public areas, and paneled wall inscribed with the names of the passengers and crew of United Flight 93.[25]

Also in 2010, Musco engineered a lighting system using LED light source technology to be installed at the East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.[26] The system took three years to complete and included 1,600 light fixtures with 51,500 LEDs.

In 2013, Musco installed an LED sports lighting system at Arizona State University’s Wells Fargo Arena.[27] Over the next few years the company would install LED systems at LakePoint Sporting Community in Emerson, Georgia; NRG Stadium[28] in Houston, Texas; AT&T Stadium[29] in Dallas, Texas; Petco Park[30] in San Diego, California; Minute Maid Park[31] in Houston, Texas; and at Twickenham Stadium[32] and Emirates Stadium[33] in the United Kingdom.

Musco installed permanent and temporary lighting systems at several venues being used for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, as well as the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

In 2015, Musco replaced a temporary LED lighting system it had installed at the Statue of Liberty in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy with a permanent LED system at the monument.[34]

Musco officially introduced its Total Light Control—TLC for LED technology in October, 2016. That same year, Musco installed permanent and temporary lighting systems at more than 200 venues being used for the Summer Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro.

In 2017, TLC for LED systems were installed at three Major League Baseball stadiums, four National Football League stadiums, and four National Basketball Association/National Hockey League arenas. That same year, in partnership with the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s It’s Everyone’s Game movement, Musco engineered the Mini-Pitch System, a modular mini soccer pitch used to expand recreational opportunities for youth in underserved communities[35] [36]. The year 2017 also saw Musco introduce its BallTracker system for aerial sport applications.

In 2018, TLC for LED systems were installed at five English Premier League stadiums.[37] In December, 2018, Musco provided temporary and mobile lighting support for the funeral memorial for former President George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol.[38]

Musco also installed systems at Notre Dame Stadium[39] [40], L.A. Memorial Coliseum[41], Wimbledon’s Centre Court[42] [43], AO Arena Manchester, and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.[44] The TLC for LED system was also installed at several collegiate stadiums, high school stadiums, Little League fields, parks and recreation fields, and at major airports and port terminals including Vancouver International Airport[45], Los Angeles International Airport, McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas[46], DP World Jebel Ali Port Terminals 1 and 2[47], Jacksonville Port Authority, DP World Vancouver, and Coastal Cargo Port of Houston.

At the onset of the 2020s Musco’s TLC for LED system continued being installed at professional, collegiate, high school, and park and recreational fields in the U.S. and abroad. When the Covid-19 pandemic caused major disruptions in global shipping and manufacturing logistics, many installations were delayed and severely impacted due to shutdowns as well as heightened health and safety protocols in the U.S. and countries around the world.

In 2020, Musco’s Show-Light special effects lighting technology was being installed at high school stadiums, in addition to professional and collegiate venues. This same year, Musco introduced MuscoVision automated sports broadcasting service.

Musco installed temporary and permanent lighting systems at various facilities used during the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

In 2021, Musco launched its Communications Structure-System monopole for use by Internet Service Providers looking to expand broadband services.

Also in 2021, Musco installed its TLC for LED and ShowLight systems at a newly-build stadium in Dyersville, Iowa, adjacent to the field featured in the motion picture Field of Dreams. On August 12, 2021 Major League Baseball staged the MLB at Field of Dreams[48] event at the newly-built stadium.

Projects for the company in 2022 included the installation of a custom TLC for LED system at Manchester United FC’s home ground Old Trafford[49]; and at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, the world’s first net-zero carbon sports arena.

Sports Lighting

• Total Light Control - TLC for LED Technology: field-of-play lighting system for newly built facilities and existing facilities where old lighting is being replaced.
• BallTracker System: upwardly-oriented fixture near the base of the pole that emits light vertically to light the underside of balls in flight.
• Show-Light Special Effects: special effects lighting system that creates customized light shows.
• Light-Structure System: structural system that includes a pre-cast concrete base, galvanized steel pole, electronic components enclosure, enclosed wire harness, and pole top luminaire assembly.
• SportsCluster System: structural system that includes luminaire assembly and crossarms for facilities with existing poles, specialty-use poles, or roof-mounted structures.

Transportation and Infrastructure Lighting

• Total Light Control - TLC for LED Technology: lighting system for airports, docks, ports, and railyards, for new facilities and existing facilities where old lighting is being replaced.
• Light-Structure System: structural system that includes a pre-cast concrete base, galvanized steel pole, electronic components enclosure, enclosed wire harness, and pole top luminaire assembly.
• Retrofit System: structural system that includes luminaire assembly and cross arms for facilities with existing poles, specialty-use poles, or roof-mounted structures.

Temporary and Mobile Lighting

• Musco Light: large truck chassis with 150-foot hydraulic boom fitted with an array of light fixtures.
• Mini Musco: compact truck chassis with 80-foot hydraulic boom fitted with an array of light fixtures.
• Temporary Light-Structure System: temporary structural system for facilities where the luminaire assembly is mounted to a pole.
• Temporary SportsCluster System: temporary structural system for lighting to be mounted to existing poles, scaffolding, trusses, or building exteriors.

Modular Sports

• Mini-Pitch System: modular mini soccer pitch that includes lights, fencing, goals, benches, lockable storage, and ADA-compliant access.

Sports Livestreaming

• MuscoVision Automated Sports Broadcasting: automated system for livestreaming games and events at high school, Little League, and community fields.

Wireless Internet

• Communication-Structure System: monopole structure with antenna mounting assembly at the pole top for deploying wireless Internet service.

System Monitoring and Support

• Control-Link: Remote monitoring and scheduling service and app with call center support.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Musco Lighting.

• Musco Sports Lighting