High bay lights are the workhorse contributor to the luminous environment in an indoor sports facility which has a small spectator capacity or where the compactness of the building structure creates issues with the use of floodlighting luminaires. In general, these luminaires are installed in gymnasiums and sports halls. Gymnasiums are usually implemented as a part of an educational facility to host school programs and sports activities. Sports halls are expansive indoor spaces designed to host recreational plays, training programs, or competitive plays that do not draw a large number of spectators. These spaces are used to accommodate a variety of sports such as basketball, badminton, tennis, volleyball, ice/roller hockey, and five-a-side-football.

Gymnasiums and sports halls are often constructed using skeletal frameworks which form interior subspace called “bays”. Lighting fixtures are mounted to the surface of the ceiling structure or suspended by a hanging device. Because the clear height found in these facilities usually reaches or exceeds 6.1 m (20 ft), lighting fixtures installed therein are commonly referred to as “high bay lights”. However, there are no rigid rules that dictate the height of the ceilings involved for installation of high bay lights. The minimal mounting height is determined by the type of sports played in the space. For example, luminaires should be mounted at least 6.7 m (22 ft) above the IES Class IV basketball playing surface.

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