Sports Venue Case Study

In 2015, BORUSSIA-PARK was scheduled to be retrofitted with a completely new audio system. The retrofit needed to be complete before the start of the 2015/2016 soccer season, which only allowed a tight six week schedule for the entire installation.

1. Full Redundancy means complete reliability: With over 54,000 fans watching in the stadium and potentially millions watch around the world, a complete audio system failure is NEVER an option.
2. Monitoring & User Control Interfaces: With a system this large and complex, it was imperative that the system had excellent monitoring capability, but was have a scalable user control interface that was easy-to-use. 
3. Future Proof: Putting the stadium out of commission for upgrades is costly, so the new audio systems needed to have enough processing and options for future expansion.

System Control and Power
During the project planning stage, the Q-SYS™ Platform quickly became the obvious choice for Henry Bleß, the project manager at prime contractor Wärtsilä FUNA International. He remarked that not only does this singular platform allow for an easier design process, this key advantage also dramatically improves reliability across the entire system.

Control: Keeping A Clear Overview
Despite the enormous complexity of the system, the user control interface reflects the need for simplicity for the operators with an emphasis on excellent usability and a clear overview of the entire system. The intelligent design of the user control interfaces within the Q-SYS Platform quickly becomes clear when personnel start to use the system and know exactly how to use it – without first needing extensive product training.

Full Redundancy for Complete Reliability
This redundancy included a double ring network structure, redundant Q-SYS Core processors and fully mirrored mixing consoles in the control room. The system also included a backup solution which would switch over to stand-by Q-SYS CXD-4.3Q or CXD4.5Q networked amplifiers.

Room to Grow
Q-SYS Core processors offer enormous performance headroom to accommodate future extensions to the system, like additional speaker booths or PA systems, or delivering audio to other systems such as mobile relay units for TV or radio broadcasts. Bleß says, “The Q-SYS Platform allows you to access or feed in any audio stream or source without any difficulty."

The system was handed over to stadium management in time for the first match of the season, and first impressions were outstanding, and not just by system users and fans visiting the stadium. A quality evaluation performed by Professor of Engineering Anselm Götz revealed an even distribution of loudness levels, and that the system also delivers the desired clarity levels for announcements.

“The fans enjoy the atmosphere at the games, the operators have a simple, intuitive and reliable system, while the stadium administrators take comfort in the  high level of safety and security we have implemented with the Q-SYS network,” says Bleß.

For more information, download the complete case study.