Inside Shure's New Downtown Chicago Facility: An Epicenter of Innovation and Style Besides offering demo and training space and production studio, it's close to customers By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Thursday, August 9, 2018 - 11:23 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Earlier this year, Shure partnered with architecture and design firm Perkins+Will to create a City Center location in the heart of Chicago's Loop. Opened in March, the 35,000-sq.-ft. space (covering an entire floor) in The National building is intended to bring Shure closer to many of its key customers - including major sports venues - as well as boosting overall growth and expansion.
On pace to outgrow its corporate headquarters in nearby Niles, IL, by the end of this year, Shure moved sales, marketing, customer service, and market development to the new downtown location. Nearly 100 Shure employees are located there, with more scheduled to make the move in the coming years.
Shure's new 35,000-sq.-ft. space covers an entire floor in The National building in Downtown Chicago.
Although the need for expansion played a role, Shure's new office also features a state-of-the-art Customer Experience Center to demo its latest video-conferencing products, a Training Center, a dedicated video-production studio, and much more.
First and foremost, says Senior Regional Sales Manager Rick Renner, our main goal with this new location was to get closer to our customers and have a space to demonstrate our video-conferencing products. In the short few months since we opened, it's already paying off, and we're just getting started. We've got customers in here [for demonstrations] almost every day, and we're now bringing integrators in so they can see it and envision how they might serve their customers. We've got customers asking not only to come in and see our products but also to see proper acoustical treatment and what the possibilities could be for their operation. So it's been a lot of fun, and we're excited about what's still to come.
Shure Tech, Style, Culture Are Evident Throughout
Inside the new offices, the company's brand, culture, and storied history take center stage. Scrawled prominently across the wall in the reception area are the words of founder S.N. Shure, which the company still lives by: We know very well that absolute perfection cannot be attained, but we will never stop striving for it.
From left: Shure's Rick Renner, Celino Ullegue, and Bill Ostry at the Chicago office
Around the corner from the main entryway is the Customer Experience Center, which features three acoustically perfect conference rooms of various sizes, allowing Shure associates to demo the latest conferencing and professional products in a real-world environment. The rooms feature a wealth of MXA910 ceiling array microphones and MXA310 table array microphones. In addition, all mics and speakers throughout the entire Customer Experience Center are running on a Dante IP network, so the different rooms can communicate with each other during demos.
The Customer Experience Center is really why we built this facility, notes Renner. We have seen big growth in the corporate market with some of the video-conferencing products that we've released over the last five years. We didn't really have the space to build anything like this in Niles, and the bulk of our corporate customers are downtown anyway.
Shure has created a fully equipped training center at its new Chicago facility.
In addition to the Customer Experience Center, Shure has erected a Training Facility equipped with MXA910 ceiling mics and an automated camera-control system that leverages facial recognition to automatically switch between the presenter up front and those in the audience asking questions.
We didn't even really have a great training space in Niles at our headquarters because it's primarily all shared spaces, so everyone is competing for the same space, says Renner. This way, we are able to have a training facility all to ourselves.
The new Shure facility also features a video-production studio and three Adobe Premiere NLE suites responsible for creating marketing, product-based, training, and social-media content.
The new Shure Downtown Chicago facility features a full production studio to create a variety of content.
It's a real luxury to have this, because we didn't have a space like it in Niles, says Renner. It's been very active in here, and it's a lot easier for our team to be downtown because it makes venues a lot more accessible. And then, in addition, they have a video-editing suite, where they have three bays and they can just edit away.
In addition, Shure's downtown office includes dedicated work areas for sales, marketing, customer service, and market-development teams; several huddle rooms (each named after a famous Chicago music venue, such as The Metro and the Auditorium Theater); new-age collaborative spaces; and a hub space fully equipped with A/V for larger gatherings. The entire floor features a sound-masking system, which allows all employees to speak at normal levels without bothering others in the workplace.
The Downtown Advantage: Sports Segment Sees the Benefits
For the company's local M&E and sports pro-audio customers, the new facility is already bearing fruit. It's walking distance from the majority of the area's major broadcasters and countless venues in the Theater District and is just a 15-minute drive from Guaranteed Rate Field, Soldier Field, Wrigley Field, and the United Center.
One of four state-of-the-art conference room facilities in Shure's Customer Experience Center in Downtown Chicago
It has definitely been easier to facilitate some one-on-one conversations with some of our top end users, says
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
26/03/2026
Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...
26/03/2026
SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...
26/03/2026
LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100).
The C-Ban...
26/03/2026
The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...
26/03/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...
26/03/2026
Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...
26/03/2026
FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...
26/03/2026
CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...
26/03/2026
Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...
26/03/2026
Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...
26/03/2026
DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...
26/03/2026
Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...
26/03/2026
Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...
26/03/2026
Spotify's partnership with NAVER, Korea's leading digital platform, is built around one simple goal: making it easier for listeners in Korea to discover...
26/03/2026
Exclusive to ComposerCloud for first month
Sample library and virtual instrument gurus EastWest have announced the upcoming release of a new virtual drum i...
26/03/2026
Friday 27 March
Friday 27 March will mark Dynamic Range Day 2026, the annual day of online activity that was started in 2010 by mastering engineer Ian Sheph...
26/03/2026
Includes four separate instruments
Max Richter's SRM Sounds venture have just announced their fifth release, ASMR Choir. Captured at the main live room ...
26/03/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), has been tasked with administering the Sixth Presi...
26/03/2026
By Matt Klein
Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
28 participating companies, from start-ups to blue-chips, lead the UK Group as part of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland presence across all the Halls at N...
26/03/2026
Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
New graphical configuration tool and...
26/03/2026
Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
Continuing development drives advances in security, availa...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast con...
26/03/2026
2026 Oscar Nominated Films Powered by Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton March 25, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio used on 27 of this year's no...
26/03/2026
Leader to present full suite of advanced Test & Measurement solutions at NAB Sho...
26/03/2026
Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbrea...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
HBO Max included for Sky and NOW customers from 26 March...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
Sky Sets Iconic Costumes Dancing Together Like Never Before' in Brand CampaignTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy o...
26/03/2026
Wuppertal March 26, 2026
CS live Builds Future-Ready OB Van With Riedel MediorNet and hi Control SystemRiedel Communications today announced that Czech-based ...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
Have a Wish Worth Dying For? Netflix's First Korean YA Hor...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
The Truthers, Starring Jose Coronado and St phanie Magnin, Pre...
26/03/2026
Enhancements to Harmonic's Sports Streaming Solution Introduce Server-Side Multiview, Contextual Metadata-Driven Advertising, Dynamic In-Stream Ads and Robu...
26/03/2026
Open the report
Our 2025 report brings together results from 79 business magazine titles across 22 market sectors, published by 49 media owners. Over the year,...
26/03/2026
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
26/03/2026
RT Commercial today announced Fiat as sponsor of The Louise Duffy Show on RT Radio 1, Weekdays 3pm 4pm.
The Louise Duffy Show is the home of daytime music...
26/03/2026
That gaming backlog won't clear itself - GeForce NOW is here to help. Stream the latest titles straight from the cloud across a variety of devices.
This we...
26/03/2026
Wayne, N.J., March 26, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the latest product li...
Inside Shure's New Downtown Chicago Facility: An Epicenter of Innovation and Style Besides offering demo and training space and production studio, it's close to customers By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
