Target Field Audio Gets a Boost With Dante Networking Use of venues for non-sports events strains sound systems By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Thursday, December 20, 2018 - 7:50 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Sports venues are being asked to host a much wider variety of events than they might have originally been designed and built for. Music concerts, in particular, increasingly put stadiums on their tour schedules. Last October, for instance, country crooner Garth Brooks did the first-ever concert in Notre Dame's football stadium, and that show, which played to an estimated 80,000-plus fans, was the first in a planned three-year tour that will play stadium venues only. Managing the audio in these venues has become a major undertaking.
The 39,000-seat Target Field, home to MLB's Minneapolis Twins, has its own concert series during the baseball season and hosted shows by the Eagles and Jimmy Buffett & His Coral Reefer Band this past summer. And there is no shortage of corporate and other non-sports events using its club seats, luxury suites, and Budweiser Roof Deck.
Pushing the Tech Envelope
What was happening was that the venue's use beyond baseball games was straining its technology, with many subnets in the facility and all audio transport done via a CobraNet system. Additionally, demand for a better fan experience required moving audio to and from areas not originally planned for audio support, including distributing audio out to various areas or pulling signals to the control room for mixing and processing: for example, bands performances before ballgames and during breaks.
Besides the MLB's Minneapolis Twins, Target Field hosts a series of concerts during the baseball season.
Although the CobraNet system is still in place to transport DSP audio data over fiber to and from fixed locations - amp rooms, clubs, press areas - the system had reached its maximum capability, and a new solution was needed.
We would have a band performing on the other side of the stadium, and there was very limited connectivity, says Jeff Pedersen, lead audio technician, Minnesota Twins Baseball, who manages and operates the sound systems and audio equipment for all games and special events. I could get only two audio lines to use: one for an intercom connection so we could communicate with our technician located with the band, who would then send me a submixed signal back on the other audio line. We were able to get the job done, but it was a difficult process, to say the least. My dream was to have control of all of this in front of me on my console, with separate channels for mixing. I finally got to do this by adding Dante connectivity into the system. The Twins had the new system up and running by midseason, in July.
Dante Domain Manager Upgrade
Pedersen and Tim Habedank, AV technical manager at integrator Parsons Electric, which has partnered in the past with the Twins, set out to upgrade and expand the audio experience in the venue. Dante and Dante Domain Manager were critical elements of that effort.
For instance, Pedersen needed a way to easily and inexpensively expand the number of inputs and outputs to his main console to provide a better fan experience and a better mix and to manage and control the total system. The next step was to install Dante-enabled equipment, immediately upgrading the system by expanding channel counts, expanding audio infrastructure, and reducing latency.
Dante also allows Target Field to tap into the existing networking structure, without having to install extra infrastructure to get audio where it needs to go. For instance, Pedersen added wireless microphone receivers, mixers, and input/output racks as a base for the Dante system.
The stadium's audio system comprises a control room tied to multiple locations. Three amplifier rooms support the stadium speaker system, as well as 18 other locations that receive audio feeds from the control room.
We started by using Dante to connect the control room to the band stage, says Pedersen. This step alone brought 16 channels from the band to my main console - a huge improvement for us. Our plan now is to get Dante into all of our remote locations and bring all the control and mixing to our main control room. If we need more remote support, I can easily plug in a network cable and jump on the Dante network to my console. There's a lot of flexibility now in being able to share inputs and outputs with different mixers in different areas.
Once the Dante network was in place, the next step was to implement Dante Domain Manager, network-management software that enables user authentication, role-based security, and audit capabilities for Dante networks while allowing expansion of Dante systems over any network infrastructure. This enabled the stadium to integrate its many separate subnets into a single, manageable, and secure audio network.
For instance, Pedersen and Habedank needed to integrate audio into areas of the stadium that were not originally designed for audio, such as where the band plays. Instead of adding an audio pathway and thousands of dollars of cabling, they used an existing data drop at these new locations, adding a Dante input/output box and plugging it into the network.
However, these new locations were not on the same subnet as Pedersen's control room. With some configuration and help from the stadium's IT department, Dante Domain Manager was deployed to bridge the various subnets, passing Dante audio from the new locations to the control room.
At Target Field, they have a Layer 3 network at the closet, Habedank explains. That means every closet has its own subnet, and the control room on the opposite side of the stadium was in a different subnet than the live-band location. Dante Domain Manager allows us to bridge these subnets and pass Dante from one
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...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/03/2026
NBC Sports selected Imaginary Forces to create the main title sequence for the M...
02/03/2026
The NFL announces the launch of the NFL Draft Innovation Challenge, a new crowds...
02/03/2026
The World Teleport Association (WTA) has named Skyline Communications' DataMiner SatOps solution as a finalist for the 2026 Teleport Technology of the Year ...
02/03/2026
Ventum Tech announces a strategic partnership with Pixotope, a real-time graphic...
02/03/2026
Victory , a free, ad-supported sports streaming service, announces the launch of...
02/03/2026
Global powerhouse Delta Goodrem to represent Australia at this year's Eurovi...
02/03/2026
SBS brings together prominent voices to discuss rising social division and seek ...
02/03/2026
NITV Unveils Wednesday Night Sport Night
Media releases
A Midweek Hub for Blak Sport
Flagship NRL program Over The Black Dot moves to Wednesdays at 9:30pm
...
02/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates FR1-FR3 carrier aggregation, advancing 6G readiness Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. have reached another pivotal ...
02/03/2026
MELBOURNE, Fla., March 2, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) today announc...
02/03/2026
Harvey Norman tops New Zealand's biggest ad spenders as retail leads and telcos and beverages sure Auckland March 3, 2026 - Nielsen's New Zealand'...
02/03/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, and Arqit Quantum Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQQ, A...
02/03/2026
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, has appointed Jody Boatwright as Chief Strategy Of...
02/03/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is reinforcing its commitment to simplifying complex AV environments with the continued evolution of its TPN...
02/03/2026
ZEISS Cinema opens its doors to an exclusive screening, filmmakers Q&A and hands-on showcase of the new ZEISS Aatma lens family on Tuesday, March 10, 6:00-9:00 ...
02/03/2026
To expand the creative potential of the compact Astera QuikBeam, DoPchoice introduces the SNAPBAG Round. The new light-shaping accessory transforms the powerfu...
02/03/2026
Douglas Dubler
On a rooftop in New York City, veteran photographer Douglas Dubler watched the sun's angle shift across the urban landscape, his internal cl...
02/03/2026
ZEISS is expanding its Otus ML lens family with the introduction of the new ZEISS Otus ML 1.4/35. This manual-focus lens is designed for photographers who live ...
02/03/2026
Matthews Studio Equipment now offers the new Dinkum Systems White FlexiMount and Phone Mount Kit, a compact, highly adaptable setup for mobile content creation...
02/03/2026
Luxembourg, February 26, 2026 - SES and Africa Mobile Network (AMN) have expande...
02/03/2026
02 03 2026 - Media release Ausfilm and Screen Australia launch joint UK market initiative
Ausfilm and Screen Australia have announced Partner with Australia (...
02/03/2026
Monday 2 March 2026
Saturday Night Live UK announces writing team
L-R: Jonno Johnson; Charlie Skelton; Celya AB; Omar Badawy; Gr inne Maguire; Laura Claxton; ...
02/03/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the Trailer for 53 Sundays, the New Film by Cesc Gay
Entertainment
02 March 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Dis...
28/02/2026
With two features seen in Formula 1 coverage, the broadcaster aims to bring view...
28/02/2026
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addresses a crowd of approximately 1,500 L3Harris employees in Camden, Arkansas, as part of his Arsenal of Freedom tour....
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Berklee Presents Mambo Mania: Eguie Castrillo and the Berklee All-Stars Big Band...
28/02/2026
Berklee Announces Two New Summer Programs in Los Angeles The Berklee Music Business Program and Electronic Music Production and Sound Design Workshop bring imme...
28/02/2026
AI-RAN is moving from lab to field, showing that a software-defined approach is ...
28/02/2026
Autonomous networks - intelligent, self-managing telecommunications operations -...
28/02/2026
Back to All News
Final Trailer for BEASTARS Final Season Part 2' Roars Tow...
28/02/2026
New way to intentionally discover molecular glues could expand drug discovery Scripps Research scientists and colleagues show how drugs that eliminate certain d...
27/02/2026
The E.W. Scripps Company names Oliver Gray as Vice President, Network Sports and...
27/02/2026
The Gotham Sports App, the exclusive direct-to-consumer streaming home of MSG Networks and the YES Network, is now available for purchase through Prime Video fo...
Target Field Audio Gets a Boost With Dante Networking Use of venues for non-sports events strains sound systems By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
