Musco Lighting is a privately owned American company that specializes in design, manufacture of sports and large area lighting systems. Based out of
Oskaloosa, Iowa
Oskaloosa is a city in, and the county seat of, Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Oskaloosa was a national center of bituminous coal mining. The population was 11,558 in the 2020 U.S. Cens ...
, Musco is responsible for lighting a full range of sports facilities, from
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...
and
Emirates Stadium
The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...
, to thousands of Little League fields worldwide. In addition to lighting both
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota, ...
and the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
, it also provides lighting systems for large industrial areas, such as DP World Jebel Ali Port Terminal 1 and Georgia Ports Authority's Garden City Terminal. Musco has also won an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
and an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
.
History
Musco Lighting was founded by Joe Crookham, a lawyer, and Myron Gordin, an engineer. Together in 1968 they founded a startup business venture named G&L Industries which manufactured products that were sold under their customer's brand names. In 1976, Joe and Myron purchased the Muscatine Lighting and Manufacturing Company in
Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine ( ) is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,797 at the time of the 2020 census, an increase from 22,697 in 2000. The county seat of Muscatine County, it is located along the Mississippi River. The lo ...
, which marked the start of Musco Lighting. A year later in 1977, the company released the Sports Cluster® system. This development featured fixtures that were mounted on metal cross arms, rather than the standard wooden ones, simplifying installation and improving reliability. By 1979, through research and development, the company introduced factory luminaire aiming, as well as the remote ballast, simplifying maintenance by placing the electrical components in a service box near the base of the pole.
1980s
Musco would enter the movie industry in 1983, when they provided lighting for ''
All the Right Moves'', a
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...
film. Musco continued to light large sporting events, including the 1983 Super Bowl, followed by the 1984 Olympic Games taking place in Los Angeles. They also marketed small baseball parks across the US by designing a four-pole light system for Little League fields. The second half of the 1980s consisted of Musco lighting the rededication ceremony for the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
, providing on-screen lighting for the film "Field of Dreams" and several others, and introducing several new products including SportsCluster-2®, Level-8™, and Total Light Control™ (TLC).
1990s
In 1992, Musco was contracted to light the first Little League World Series to be played at night at
Lamade Stadium. After this World Series, the company would go on to becoming the Official Sports-Lighting System of Little League Baseball and partner to create A Safety Awareness Program™ (ASAP) to improve safety in Little League. Musco moved into a new area of sports lighting by developing Mirtran™ (ground level mirror lighting technology) to meet the criteria for lighting
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
tracks.
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including th ...
was the first to receive this new technology in 1992 for "one hot night", a part of the
1992 Winston Cup. This design would be used at the
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...
. Musco made their first major lighting installation in Europe by implementing its lighting system at
Dunstall Park
Dunstall is a small village and civil parish in the borough of East Staffordshire, Staffordshire, England. It lies between Burton upon Trent and Barton-under-Needwood. The population of the parish at the 2001 census was 215, decreasing to 209 ...
, in England. The final year of the decade saw a major innovation in regards to facility management with Control-Link, a wireless control system based on internet technologies that provides facility managers the ability to control their sports-lighting remotely.
2000s
Musco expanded in 2002 both internationally and domestically, by opening production facilities in China and South Korea, and by placing regionally based lighting technicians to service customers in the US, respectively. In 2005, Musco introduced Musco's Light-Structure Green™ system and the Musco Constant 25™, a 25-year warranty and maintenance program. The
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
was Musco's first outdoor application with the technology. Additionally, in 2008 Musco brought light to the
Losail International Circuit
The Losail International Circuit or Lusail International Circuit (Arabic: حلبة لوسيل الدولية) is a motor racing circuit located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha, Qatar.
Built in just under a year by 1,000 workers ...
, one of the world's largest lighting projects, along with the
Yas Marina Circuit
The Yas Marina Circuit (Arabic: حلبة مرسى ياس) is the venue for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, and is situated on Yas Island, near Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Yas Marina was ...
in 2009.
2010s
In 2010, Musco engaged one of its largest projects, lighting the East Span of the
San Francisco Bay Bridge. After three years of development and testing, the design had 51,500 LEDs in 1,600 light fixtures strategically aimed to highlight the bridge without shining light in the eyes of the 300,000 daily drivers. The new LED system reduced energy consumption by 50 percent as compared to the typical
metal halide lighting
A metal-halide lamp is an electrical lamp that produces light by an electric arc through a gaseous mixture of vaporized mercury (element), mercury and metal halides (compounds of metals with bromine or iodine). It is a type of high-intensity d ...
.
In 2013, Musco installed LED lights at Arizona State University's
Wells Fargo Arena, the first in
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
basketball. The following year,
Emerson, Georgia
Emerson is a city in far southern Bartow County, Georgia, United States, on highways US-41, GA-293, and I-75. The population was 1,470 at the 2010 census, an increase of 34% over the 2000 count of 1,092.
Emerson is a gateway to Red Top Mountain ...
LakePoint Sporting Community installed Musco's Light-Structure Green™ LED system, being the first major sports complex to do so. Musco also installed its system at
NRG Stadium
NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retrac ...
, making it one of the first NFL stadiums to be lit with LED technology, and at
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team play ...
, one of the first in Europe, for the
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
being held in England. Musco's SportsCluster Green™ LED system is in the
Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium
AT&T Stadium, formerly Cowboys Stadium, is a retractable roof, retractable-roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. I ...
. In 2015, Musco took on the task of providing LED lighting for both the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
and
Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota ...
. Musco's 2016 projects of scale included
Emirates Stadium
The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...
, home of
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inclu ...
,
Petco Park
Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby.
The ballpark is located between Se ...
of the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
, and
Minute Maid Park
Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 ...
, home of the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
. Musco has offices around the globe, in Australia, Canada, China,
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
, Germany, Greece, Ireland,
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
,
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
, United Kingdom, and the United States.
2020s
In 2020, Musco assisted
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
in upgrading the lighting at
Sahlen Field
Sahlen Field is a baseball park in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Pilot Field, the venue has since been named Downtown Ballpark, North AmeriCare Park, Dunn Tire Park, and Coca-Cola Field. Home to the Buffalo Bisons of the ...
prior to the 2020
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
season.
[ ]
References
External links
{{Commons category
Musco Sports Lighting
Lighting brands
Manufacturing companies based in Iowa
Oskaloosa, Iowa
American lighting designers
American companies established in 1976
Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1976
Design companies established in 1976
Electronics companies established in 1976
1976 establishments in Iowa
American brands