I wanted to respond to your report on lights on one of the Babe Ruth fields. It didn't say, but I assume it is the Blue field that has 20 lights out. I assume that because that is original lighting from 1978 and it has the most fixtures of the two fields. It is true that lighting is way past its expected life. Over 30 years for lighting is stretching it a long way. We can only replace lamps and associated ballasts/fused up that high one time a year. It requires a crane that can reach over 75 feet high. We do this project in June or July as the fields must be the driest possible because the crane is so heavy it would sink in the turf if not. This particular field losses bulbs/ballasts/fuses most rapidly because of the age. The cost of bulbs, ballasts, and fuses would surprise most people. Bulb are about $100 per and the other parts are more expensive. The real expensive part of lights this high up is the crane and legally we must have an electrician do the project. This particular field will cost in excess of $3,000 just to replace the bulbs that work. There are some that are permanently out due to structural problems with age. It is true, the big part of this message is our limited budget the last several years. Additionally, the question of whether to replace ballfield lighting is increasing asked with good reason. Daylight savings time makes getting most games in possible. It is also true that the bigger fields have plenty of excess capacity during the daylight hours on the weekends and that makes justifying replacing or maintaining expensive lighting questionable. The estimated cost to relight that field with updated lights is over $100,000. It would require concrete poles and all new equipment. When it is used M-F mostly for less than 3 months a year and limited hours when used.......that puts a lot of pressure on justifying a cost that large. One of our high schools does not have lights on their ballfield because they cannot justify the cost. Just thought you should know some of the factors why those lights will not be attended to until June/July.