By Rachel Tiffen They sparkled like jewels - but it was a man named Neil not Lucy who was "in the sky with diamonds" at Blue Chip Stadium yesterday. RM Clarkson project manager Neil Ellis and co-worker Lester Davies, were suspended in a cage 40m in the air, as the second offour flash new light towers was erected at the park. The first was put up without a hitch on Wednesday. And on the beautifully fine first day of Spring, the twinkling tray of 42 lights was a magnificent sight with a sapphire blue sky for a backdrop. But for Mr Davies it was business as usual. "We're just doing one a day. It takes about two hours from when it goes in there to when it comes down," he told the Bay of Plenty Times. There were two men in cranes, two in carts, a "dogman" on the ground and two clinging on to safety ropes while the mighty tower was hoisted, twisted and maneuvered on to its foundation. This was no small task - putting the massive frame into a 65 cubic metre foundation hole, filled with 125 tonnes of concrete. Once all four light towers are up and ready, the stadium will meet criteria to host Super 14 and international standard fixtures. It will also allow the Bay of Plenty Steamers to train at night. The giant powerful lights can pump out more than 300,000 watts all up, with each bulb requiring 2 kilowatts of power and warranted for 10,000 hours. Baypark owner Bob Clarkson has put hundreds of thousands of dollars into funding them. Aside from rugby, the lights will also be used for night-time events at Blue Chip such as speedway and the summer concert series. They were manufactured by specialist stadium lighting firm Musco Lighting in Iowa, which supplies Eden Park and the Olympic Stadium in Sydney. The remaining two light towers will be put up over the next two days.
