Collingwood Lights Up Northampton Saints Hospitality and Net Zero Drive
Posted by: electime 21st July 2026
Collingwood Lighting is helping Northampton Saints rugby club create the right atmosphere for fans and reduce their carbon footprint with an LED lighting refurbishment programme in its stands.
The company designed and supplied modern LED fittings for the whole of the club’s Barwell stand as phase 1 of the project. The stand includes general seating areas, corporate hospitality, corridors, staff areas, toilets, and general entertainment areas.
The lighting refurbishment is a key part of the club’s net zero carbon pledge. It is one of only a handful of professional rugby clubs to sign up to the UN’s Sports for Climate Action Framework, which commits the club to a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030 and to be net zero by 2040.
The rugby club will save almost 15 tonnes of carbon emissions and up to £9,000 per year running costs from this initial installation in the stand. Projections for the whole stadium will see 60 tonnes of carbon saved per year.
Says Northampton Saints Chief Executive, Julia Chapman: “This LED lighting refurbishment future proofs our stadium because it not only costs us less money and uses less energy, but it has a real impact on how our fans enjoy a space.
Talking about one of the hospitality areas, the tunnel club, Chapman goes onto to say: “The environment that we create makes all the difference to someone’s match day experience, with lighting having such a big impact on the look and feel of an area.”
Collingwood provided the design for all the lighting in the stadium, the fittings that the club needed and the projected energy and cost savings. The refurbishment payback period for the investment is just 19 months.
Hospitality lighting
The lighting design for corporate hospitality suites, such as the infamous tunnel club where spectators can watch the players run onto the pitch, is vital.
For these areas Collingwood designed schemes that uses its downlights Thea Pro with DALI lighting control for the ambient lighting and LED strip lighting to pick out and emphasis features to add extra interest through accent lighting. The colour temperature for the lighting was set at a warm 3000K for a relaxing and sociable space.
General area lighting
For other areas in the stand which includes corridors, toilets, staff kitchens and storage areas, Collingwood designed a more functional lighting scheme using fittings with a cooler colour temperature of 4000K. This aids concentration and focus for task orientated activities. A mixture of fittings was installed including Thea Pro, Solis LED panel lighting and it’s tough and durable anti-corrosive Caiman bulkhead for storage and warehouse areas.
Emergency Lighting
Collingwood has also provided emergency lighting packs so that installers can convert some of their fittings into emergency lighting. This helps people safely leave if there is a mains power failure.
Commenting on the installation, operations manager Stuart Jenkins said: “We are a high end hospitality venue so the right lighting design using reliable products is key. This refurbishment has saved us energy, running costs and maintenance, but most importantly it improves the match day experience for our fans.”
Other sustainable initiatives taken by the club include installing over 800 solar panels, using zero carbon bought in energy, installing rainwater capture systems for pitch irrigation, and improving insulation in all their buildings.
