PHOENIX – Chase Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks, underwent an audio upgrade that resulted in the first permanent installation of Cohesion CO12 loudspeakers. Management had been impressed by the sound quality of a temporary deployment of a CO12 system for a concert at the stadium before opting for the permanent install.
More details from Cohesion (www.cohesionaudio.com):
Chase Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks, raised another National League pennant this past year. The championship banner gained impressive company with the completed integration of a brand-new Cohesion system whose performance matches the premier events held at Phoenix’s crown jewel sports venue. The system, featuring the first permanent installation of Cohesion CO12 loudspeakers, satisfies ownership’s desire for a system capable of concert-level output and performance.
Opened in 1998, the 48,330-seat retractable-roof stadium has, over subsequent decades, augmented its year-round entertainment offerings beyond baseball. The Chase Field executive team envisioned attracting a wider range of high-profile events with an upgraded PA at the venue that could ultimately encompass a full calendar of productions with superior audio.
“We are thrilled about the new capability to consistently deliver concert-level audio quality for MLB games and various other events at the ballpark for years to come,” said Diamondbacks President, CEO, and General Partner Derrick Hall. “Our recently implemented Cohesion system at Chase Field has truly exceeded expectations.”
“The goal of better sound included granular control,” concurred Steve Silvertooth, Manager of Broadcast Engineering for the Diamondbacks, alluding to the flexibility and precision of the new system.
Silvertooth experienced the capabilities of Cohesion firsthand during a Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks concert at Chase Field in December 2023 and became convinced that it should be the preferred solution for their upcoming project.
He reflected at the time, “If our system’s half as good as that, it’ll be a huge upgrade.”
Ultimately, the Chase Field system integrated the very same CO12 featured in the arrays of that Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks concert they attended.
Clair Global Integration (CGI) installed the system in the span of a few weeks prior to the 2024 baseball season. The main PA, comprised of 18 CO12 per side adjacent to the centerfield scoreboard, provided coverage for the bulk of the stadium seating. An additional integration of 9 CO12 per side underneath and rotated relative to the main clusters provided further coverage of the outfield and side seating.
This alignment, in lieu of more traditional co-located arrays, reduced interference in the lower end of the spectrum and worked well for the unique physical characteristics and reflective surfaces within Chase Field. The system design accounted for those venue attributes, such as the nine-million-pound retractable steel roof and the large (20’ x 15’) doors that open by the north concourse when weather permits.
The heart of the system, confirmed Demetrius Palavos, Clair Global VP of Sports Integration & Special Projects, is the CO12: “The coverage is phenomenal,” he said. “Often the edges of the polar patterns don’t give even coverage, but Cohesion provides the same pattern across the spectrum. As you’re transitioning from cluster to cluster, you can’t tell it’s handing off.”
The bandwidth of the CO12, with coverage down to 35 Hz, eliminated the need for subwoofers, which saved valuable space in an area with limited room for installation.
“This was a great opportunity to use the CO12,” said Brad Ricks, Clair Global Integration’s Senior Design Engineer for Sports & Entertainment Venues. “Going that low and covering it extremely well is impressive. We can be 500 feet away and feel our clothes moving, and the sound is very focused and directed. The changes in how the system performs, doors open or closed, were minimal because of the amount of directivity the long arrays provided.”
Jeffrey Heimburger, Broadcast Engineer for the Diamondbacks, said, “The sound quality is a million times better. I would definitely say the defining characteristic of the CO12 is the clarity.”
The system also included an upgrade to the control room reference monitors by integrating a pair of Cohesion CF10 point source loudspeakers. These versatile fill speakers are voiced similarly to the CO12 and therefore extended the full-range response of the outfield arrays into the control room to improve mixing of gameday audio and live performances.
The system design targets a combination of physical impact and consistent coverage that is imperative to attracting newer and younger fans to baseball games. “The sport is changing,” explained Palavos. “How do you build excitement with technology? You elevate the production value.”
Silvertooth complimented the consistency and clarity of the system, specifically of the CO12, describing that each seating section was within 1–2 dB of one another across the full breadth of the stadium from the upper deck to the area directly behind home plate. “I didn’t think that could be achieved, and it exceeded. The coverage is phenomenal.”
Heimburger said, “You could hear what you couldn’t hear before in our very large space. We are floored.”
“The Cohesion system’s unparalleled clarity and exceptional output have significantly enhanced fan experiences beginning with Opening Day,” Hall concluded. “The overwhelmingly positive feedback from fans, players, other clubs, and staff alike has been incredible.”
