Thompson-Boling Arena was one of the first in the world to feature lights that are smaller, brighter, and up to 85 percent more efficient than conventional arena metal halide lights. The lights were installed in spring 2014. The luminaires use an ORNL-developed lightweight graphite foam that cools the LED, making the lights more efficient and reliable. This enables ninety 400-watt LED fixtures to bathe the arena’s floor with 200 foot-candles per square foot, compared to the 130 foot-candles produced by the arena’s existing 1,101 fixtures using 100-watt halide lights. The technology was developed and manufactured by Oak Ridge-based LED North America at the Tech 20/20 incubator facility in Oak Ridge. LED North America and Bandit Lites, which installed the Thompson-Boling lighting, entered into a partnership to offer the revolutionary light-emitting diode fixtures, called SuperSport luminaires, to the world of arena sports lighting.