PURPOSE: To obtain a sports lighting luminaire having improved light delivery characteristics.

CONSTITUTION: An elongated bare arc tube, high intensity discharge lamp 30 is disposed near the apex of a parabolically shaped reflector member 20. The reflector is constructed of a non-metallic material and by the orientation and positioning of the lamp within the reflector, an essentially oval shaped light pattern is generated. A light transmissive cover 26 is disposed over the open end of the reflector. When projected onto the playing surface of a sports field, the oval shaped light pattern translates to an essentially circular shaped pattern which allows for a more uniform and efficient overlapping of the multiple light outputs at the playing field level. Louvers 32 can be disposed within the reflector to further redirect any high angle light output into a lower angle which is more useful at the playing surface level.