Baseball and STEEL-ROOT® from BFtec have more in common than you might think. Both are enjoying increasing popularity, which ensured that the sports facility of the Berlin Flamingos baseball club was equipped with a new floodlight system. When founding the company, those responsible relied on the versatile, quick to set up and extremely economical STEEL-ROOT® from BFtec in Nentershausen (Germany).
Faster, cheaper installation thanks to STEEL-ROOT®
Around 450 kilos in weight and 5.9 square meters of wind load area, these are two parameters of the new LED floodlight systems that were to be erected on 20 meter high floodlight masts in Berlin's Flamingo Park at the end of last year. With these dimensions, a foundation in the conventional way would have meant a concrete foundation several cubic meters in size for each mast: in addition to numerous transports of the building materials to the construction site, the construction time would also have been significantly longer — due to the hardening times of the concrete. In addition, a lot of supply lines and cable pipes should have been laid. Since the lighting concept envisaged the installation of eight floodlight masts, the intervention on the sports facility in the "Märkisches Viertel" in northern Berlin would have been unequal and, above all, disproportionately larger.
Creation of the planum
In preparation for a foundation with STEEL-ROOT®, an approximately 3 by 3 meter and approximately 2 meter deep excavation pit was dug for each floodlight mast and a gravel subgrade was created. With the help of a crane, the pre-assembled STEEL-ROOT® were lifted onto the subgrade and filled in layers with the upcoming soil. No earth had to be disposed of for expensive money. Wherever cables crossed the construction pits, these were practically integrated into the STEEL-ROOT®.
Great flexibility
The system of STEEL-ROOT® impresses with its great flexibility: In the course of construction planning, the STEEL-ROOT® are precisely tailored to their later use in size and shape. This is done according to the maxim: As small as possible, as large as necessary. Furthermore, for reasons of better transport, they consist of individual parts that can also be easily assembled on site by non-specialists. Of course, crossing lines and pipes can also be "rebuilt".
Due to the requirements described at the beginning, the STEEL-ROOT® installed in the Flamingo Park were relatively large with a height of almost 2 meters. The STEEL-ROOT® were embedded in the ground at a depth of around 1.70 meters. The actual floodlight masts were put on with a crane and were screwed afterwards. The assembly was executed by the team of the floodlight manufacturer Praml, a leading company in the industry — with the expert guidance of a technician from the BFtec team.
Game operation also possible in the dark
The district of Reinickendorf has invested around 410,000 € from a sports facility renovation program in the new floodlight system, which is now illuminated by eight masts. This enables the baseball players of the Berlin Flamingos to extend their training times into the evening hours, even in the darker seasons. In addition, a floodlight system is required according to the licensing criteria of the German baseball association for the 1st Bundesliga. Up until now, the flamingos could only play in the top division with an exceptional permit.
In the long term, the club's managers want to lead baseball in northern Berlin to the top of the Bundesliga. The Flamingos have a lot in common with STEEL-ROOT®: Both are on the way to the top.
