Wankhede Stadium - Case Study

The Challenge

For the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), redeveloping the Wankhede Stadium up to international standards was a non-negotiable aspect. It had to be since I had decided to host the 2011 World Cup Final there.

The illumination requirement was finalised to galvanized polygonal stadium mast with highly efficient 2 kW sports floodlight luminaire, which would ensure high-quality floodlighting and make it suitable for HDTV transmission. With such a major upgrade in such a tight deadline, MCA turned to the masters in the illumination business, Bajaj Electricals Ltd., for a game-changing assist.

BEL brought in a specialised project execution team for this task. The entire project was further segregated into two major blocks to simplify the complexity of the task at hand.

 Lighting Design:

• Huge canopy obstructions over the spectator’s stand, which were a part of the renovation, led to an enormous shadow being cast on the field of play (FOP) area
• Acute space constraint at the site led to asymmetrical location of all four masts. BEL had to adhere to requirements of vertical illuminance level w.r.t. all camera locations, balancing between vertical and horizontal illuminance level as well as providing proper uniformity level on the playing arena
• Also, Bajaj had to restrict light spillage as there were residential properties nearby. Light pollution was another aspect that had to be taken into consideration while executing the project

 Project Execution:

• Acute space constraint for handling the erection of masts at designated locations
• No space for movement of crane for installing masts
• Near proximity of western railway high tension line to the masts. Several objections from railway division for the same!
• No space for storing the material at site, resulting in unnecessary back and forth and the timelines getting affected several times

The Results

BEL adhered to all the requirements, and successfully executed and commissioned the project within the set deadlines. The MCA management committee appreciated Bajaj’s project execution skillset as well as efficient lighting solution.

How We Did It

Bajaj Illumination EPC segment understood the challenges of the project and conceptualised its design based on the requirements of the stadium.

Lighting Design:

BEL carried out continuous 15 days of lighting design activity in order to achieve all design parameters w.r.t. excellent quality of lighting, consideration of NIT specified luminaire quantity and mast height (72 m top).

Project Execution:

• After analyzing the challenges, the team at Bajaj came up with the idea of derrick system for installing 72 m with 112 nos. of 2 kW luminaire per mast
• Special derrick was designed and manufactured at site to install such a huge structure without the use of any crane
• The space was so constrained that there was no proper space to tie the derrick for balancing the system. However, BEL’s team of experts managed to come up with a solution for that as well