March 04, 2019
“Before we go to the ground we have to wait for the light show to finish,” said BBC Football pundit Gabby Logan. She went on to explain that such displays of light and sound were becoming common ahead of football matches. The occasion was Chelsea v Sheffield Wednesday in the 4th round of the FA cup. It was the second time in as many days that I’d heard a football TV show host talk about pre-match light shows.
How times have changed! I remembered the winter days of my youth standing half-frozen on the terraces of PSV Eindhoven’s Philips Stadium, eating a cone of soggy French fries. Pitch lighting was switched on an hour before kick-off and took at least 30 minutes to warm. Today’s LED pitch lighting is instantaneous and Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium was one of the first in England to install this remarkable technology.