Audio installations in sports facilities can present severe challenges to integrators and system designers, particularly with multi-use venues that host baseball or basketball and hockey games on some nights and concerts on others. Here are some recent install projects that have achieved successful outcomes for integrators, teams, management, concert producers — and, of course, the fans.
TDECU Stadium, Houston, TX
From 2014 to 2017, just after opening the new John O’Quinn Field at TDECU Stadium, the University of Houston Cougars football team won 16 straight games. The new stadium’s P.A. system, however, wasn’t nearly as successful.
“We had been helping the school nurse its existing sound system through football seasons for the past two years, but it became clear that they needed a new, more modern audio system,” says Matt Rhodes, sales engineer at the school’s longtime AV partner, Houston-based LD Systems. “We looked at a few options with them and found that L-Acoustics offered the right mix of components to create a powerful yet cost-effective system for the client.”
The new system, installed in time for the 2022 season, makes use of L-Acoustics’ K, A, and X Series products. There are two hangs of 12 K2 enclosures over six Kara II per side of the scoreboard, flanked by a combination of A15i Wide and A15i Focus enclosures in two hangs per side as side-fill arrays. Six coaxial X12 and X8 loudspeakers are used as lower arrays below the scoreboard. Two LA4X, three LA2Xi, and 10 LA12X amplified controllers power the “necklace” of components arranged around the scoreboard.
With L-Acoustics’ K2 able to cover much of the stadium’s low-end requirements on its own — all the way down to 35 Hz — subwoofers weren’t necessary for this project, Rhodes adds. “It was important to the school that the sound system be able to pump up the teams and fans ahead of games,” Rhodes says. “They use a lot of hip-hop music for warm-ups, and they want the fans excited. Everyone was impressed by the amount of low-frequency energy that K2 is capable of.”
On Sept. 17, 2022, when the Cougars took on the Kansas Jayhawks of the University of Kansas, the new sound system made its official debut. “The Cougars are an incredible team, and the whole sporting experience there at the stadium is going to be even more amazing for the fans now that this new sound system is in place,” says Rhodes.
TJ Meagher, University of Houston senior associate athletics director, agrees. “LD Systems’ installation of the L-Acoustics line arrays has brought the big sound that our stadium has needed for the last few seasons,” Meagher says. “While it’s hard to appreciate how the elegant and understated speakers flanking the video board could deliver such a full audio experience, it’s the adaptability of the controls that make this next-level fan entertainment. The sound quality and volume are incredible, and the system has given us the latitude to look at our in-game entertainment with a much broader perspective.”
TDECU Stadium, named for the Texas Dow Employees Credit Union, was built on the site of the former Robertson Stadium. The venue also hosts the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks.
TDECU Stadium
- Capacity: 40,000
- Key Components: L-Acoustics K2, Kara II, A15i, X12, X8
- Integrator: LD Systems
Dollar Loan Center Arena, Henderson, NV
Whether you call it “The Buck” or “The Stronghold,” 5,500-seat Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, NV is a first-class venue for second-tier sports. It’s home to the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League and the Vegas Knight Hawks of the Indoor Football League.
In addition, the Big West Conference announced last year that the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball championships would be held there starting with the West Coast teams of the March Madness series.
The $80 million-plus arena is one of the first of its post-pandemic cohort, officially opened on March 8 of this year as Covid began slowly releasing its grip on live events. AV systems designer and consultancy Anthony James Partners specified a DiGiCo S31 for FOH, which was installed and integrated by C.V. Lloyde Audiovisual.
Along with the top reason for specifying the desk — sound quality — Anthony James Partners’ Jack Covert credits the console for operational flexibility and ease of use. “In a venue like this, the console is going to be used by a wide range of mix engineers for sports and other applications,” he says. “And while we’re using Dante to connect here, the S31 can interface with other systems in any number of ways. It’s not just flexible for users, it’s flexible for consultants and integrators, too.”
“The owners of the Henderson Silver Knights also own the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights,” adds C.V. Lloyde Audiovisual president and CEO Stephen Morris, “and they wanted consistency of things like operator training, system routing, and ease and intuitiveness of use between both this venue and the T-Mobile Arena,” where the Vegas Golden Knights play, even though there are different console brands in each venue.
“We can have the stage box in the rack next to the patch panels, and because it’s such a slim design, we were able to position it backwards so that the I/O are actually in the back of the console,” adds C.V. Lloyde Audiovisual’s on-site technician, Matt Langley. “That gave us a very clean look to the install, which really does make a difference for the client’s confidence in the installation. We wouldn’t have been able to do that with a typical bulky stage box.”
C.V. Lloyde Audiovisual’s Morris adds that the S31’s DSP is also being used for the back-of-house audio’s management. “The heavy lifting for all that routing is all done in the DSP, with a separate control screen on the console for that. I don’t think any other console could have hit all of those marks as well as the S31.”
Dollar Loan Center Arena
Capacity: 5,500
Key Component: DiGiCo S31 console
Integrators: Anthony James Partners (system design), C.V. Lloyde Audiovisual (installation)
Overtime Elite Basketball Training Facility, Atlanta, GA
Overtime Elite (OTE) is a new basketball sports league dedicated to the needs of emerging basketball stars. Their new 103,000-square-foot facility is where OTE’s players train, study and compete. To ensure the best possible audio performance and to support their games and events, AG Production Services provided DAS Audio’s Aero, Artec, HQ, UX, and CL series components.
AG Production Services built and outfitted the new OTE facility from the ground up, and its president, Andrew Gumper, oversaw the designers, engineers, and installers involved in the OTE project. “The basketball court serves as OTE’s primary space,” Gumper says. “The arena holds 1,200 spectators, and OTE hosts games that are open to the public.”
To ensure full coverage of the basketball court and adjacent seating areas, AG Production Services deployed 32 Aero-40A three-way powered line array systems. Each of these loudspeakers have a 12-inch transducer in a bass-horn configuration for low-end reproduction, an 8-inch transducer for the midrange, and high frequency reproduction handled by two DAS M-75N neodymium compression drivers attached to a BPS-2912 waveguide. These are augmented by 16 Aero-20A compact line arrays, each equipped with a 12-inch transducer for the low-mid range, with one M-75N neodymium compression driver for the high frequencies. Eight UX-218A subwoofers, each outfitted with dual 18-inch transducers in a front-loaded crossfire configuration, provide low frequency support.
Along with the basketball court, the OTE facility includes a weight room, practice courts, classrooms, and offices. Throughout these areas, the AG Production Services crew members installed various combinations of DAS Audio Artec, HQ, and CL series products. A total of 12 Artec-326-point source enclosures, nine HQ-212.64-CX 2-way, long throw enclosures and 96 CL-8 ceiling speakers cover these zones beyond the basketball court area.
The installation of the DAS Audio loudspeakers took place in September 2021, and the facility opened the next month, in October. “The new DAS sound system has been absolutely amazing,” Gumper said. “Levels are consistent throughout the entire basketball court, so there is never any question about what was announced. The entire DAS Audio team was a pleasure to work with and I’d like to offer a special thank you to Carlos Henao, the company’s U.S. Production and Touring Manager, for staying on top of matters throughout the project. To sum it all up, both in terms of the products and the supporting people, DAS Audio is hard to beat.”
Overtime Elite (OTE)
- Capacity: 1,200
- Key Components: DAS Audio Aero, Artec, HQ, UX, and CL
- Integrators: AG Production Services
Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
Since its Oct. 2021 opening, Seattle’s 17,000-seat Climate Pledge Arena has set its sights on becoming the most progressive, responsible, and sustainable arena in the world, with a net-zero carbon status, no single-use plastic, water conservation, and zero waste as some of its initial ambitions.
Originally opened in 1962 as part of the Seattle World’s Fair, the arena, first known as the Seattle Center Coliseum, was renovated in 1995 as KeyArena and then completely rebuilt in 2020-2021 with a reported $1.15 billion in private investment.
As Idibri senior consultant David Battershell notes, the latest upgrade wasn’t just a simple renovation. The original arena’s roof, for starters, “is a historic landmark and couldn’t be torn down, so it had to be lifted off for work to begin. The rest of the building was then completely dismantled, the floor was lowered 20 feet, and the new arena was built up to where the original roof would eventually be replaced.”
Along with naming rights, where it opted for “Climate Pledge” to raise awareness of the venue’s unique sustainability initiatives rather than simply tout its own company brand, Amazon is featuring its contactless Amazon One and Just Walk Out payment systems to eliminate checkout and payment delays at stores and food concessions within the arena.
While architects Populous and general contractor Mortenson met client Oak View Group’s need to preserve the iconic roofline, new upgrades changed the undercarriage, adding dozens of vertical lapendary baffles.
A perforated metal panel on both sides of the upper deck lets fans maximize the noise in the bowl, providing home venue advantage for basketball or hockey games. Adjustable acoustic features include retractable 40-foot acoustic curtains, which help open up the bowl and make it louder during games while muting the echo during concerts.
The main arena sound system is based around JBL Professional VTX A series (VTX A12 and VTX A8 line arrays, with VTX S28 subs) all powered by Crown amplifiers. JBL Control Series and AE Series speakers are used throughout the public areas and are powered by a variety of Powersoft amplifiers.
Idibri’s Battershell credited Powersoft’s Mezzo, in particular, for use in the arena’s suites, behind the televisions. “We used them to provide an audio input for local TV audio, amplification for local speakers and IP audio connection to the bowl audio feeds,” he notes. “Powersoft heard our design requirements and delivered exactly what we needed.”
Dave Curry, vice-president of technology for Climate Pledge Arena, also credited the audio setup in the suites. “The feedback from guests has been very positive.”
Climate Pledge Arena
- Capacity: 17,200 (Concerts), 18,100 (Basketball)
- Key Components: JBL Pro VTX A line arrays, Crown & Powersoft amps
- Integrators: Idibri (AV)
BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany
The 30,210-capacity BayArena stadium, home to the Bayer 04 Leverkusen pro soccer team since 1958, was significantly expanded in 2008-2009 and remodeled with its current nest-like roof structure. More recently, TecArena Plus, which is owned by the team, worked with Wilhelm & Willhalm on an audio upgrade that included a new Coda Audio sound system.
TecArena Plus MD Felix Duden oversaw the project with an assist from media technician Christian Wild, who noted the goal of achieving a Speech Transmission Index (STI) of “0.56 on at least 90% of the areas covered.” After considering several alternatives, TecArena Plus settled on the Coda solution.
“The simulation results, all performance parameters as well as the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of the offer clearly spoke in favor of Coda,” said Wolfgang Sessmann, head of strategic facility management for TecArena Plus.
The new system includes 82 Coda Audio APS loudspeakers in 16 positions, covering the tiers inside the stadium with varying horizontal dispersion angles (60°/90°/120°) to match the respective tier topology. This also allows for different sound zones to be customized, reducing background SPLs in designated media interview areas. Another new feature for the stadium is coverage for the field itself, with four groups of two APS units pointing downward from the roof.
“Compared with the previously installed system, the Coda arrays are visually much less noticeable,” said Wild. “Instead of eight units, only five speakers are now required in most positions, and the weight of the arrays is also much less than before.”
“To be honest, we were a little skeptical at first when we saw the comparatively small number of loudspeakers that Wilhelm & Willhalm wanted to install in the BayArena,” added TecArena Plus media tech Philip Poerschke. “We were, however, quickly proved wrong, and Coda Audio’s dual-diaphragm technology quickly convinced us.”
Twelve Coda Audio Linus14D amplifiers, each delivering 4 x 3500 watts at 4 ohms, drive the system. Four audio inputs can be flexibly routed to any of the four outputs, including analog, AES3, LiNET or Dante. The amplifiers are situated in four control rooms in the upper tier. Crossover cabling (‘tooth gaps’) between the four control rooms, as well as between each control room’s three amplifiers, ensures that the supply to the sound reinforcement zones is guaranteed in the event of an amp failure.
With large cable cross-sections counteracting losses on lines with lengths of 80 to 120 meters, the amplifiers running in continuous operation require considerably less energy than the models previously in use. Notably, the 12 Coda units replace a previous total of 72 amps. The Linus14’s signal routing can be set via remote control software (Linus CORE) available for macOS and Windows, or directly on the unit via front panel buttons, jog dial and monochrome display.
“The required acoustic parameters were clearly exceeded during the project acceptance, and after the first Bundesliga matches, our new sound system has more than convinced us,” said Sessman.
Poerschke noted that, while the previous system had issues with intelligibility, “there have been no more complaints like that, in fact we’ve received feedback from our fans that everything can now be clearly understood and that the music sounds really good.”
BayArena
- Capacity: 30,210
- Key Components: Coda Audio APS loudspeakers, Linus14D amplifiers
- Integrators: TecArena Plus, Wilhelm & Willhalm
Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada
In 2019, officials with Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays MLB team, decided it was time to replace the two decade-old P.A. system. Working with AV and design consultant Anthony James Partners (AJP), they chose EAW’s QX series.
With the building shut down in 2020, the Blue Jays were forced to play the season in the U.S. The stadium, meanwhile, was unable to reopen its doors due to the lockdown and didn’t have the opportunity to show off its new P.A. system until the team returned to Toronto for the following season.
Along with the audio upgrade, stadium management added several new visual elements, including a new video board and several pole displays, as well as a renovated control room.
Canada-based SF Marketing (SFM) procured, delivered and tested the audio equipment, while AJP worked with the team’s AV representative on the system design. All Pro supplied the gear and managed the deployment and tuning, and Spark Power handled the integration.
“In addition to being the local EAW representative in Toronto for the last 24 years, I am also a fan of the Jays and the facility,” said Rob Deslauriers of SFM. “It was exciting to see the prior EAW audio system upgraded to the EAW QX series to achieve an even better fan experience. Current Major League sports require a more immersive experience for fans, and the new system does not disappoint.”
A total of 125 EAW QX500 and QX300 Series loudspeakers were installed as part of the main P.A. on the 500 seating level. The 100 level has three-way QX500 Series boxes and the 200 level features two-way QX300 Series speakers. Over 250 additional EAW products were installed throughout the venue, consisting mainly of MK8126i two-way passive speakers along with JF80Z and JF60Z two-way trapezoidal enclosures.
The QX Series delivers very high output point source clusters in a size-efficient package. The series includes two ranges — QX500 and QX300 — each with a choice of coverage patterns from systems that use identical enclosures. The QX’s broadband pattern control is designed to tame hostile acoustical environments in a variety of venues.
Rogers Centre
- Capacity: 49,282
- Key Components: EAW QX500, QX300, MK8126i, JF80Z, JF60Z
- Integrators: Anthony James Partners, SF Marketing, All Pro, Spark Power
