Tech Focus: Venue Sound, Part 1 - Audio Integrators Look To Enhance the Fan Experience Advanced systems enable stadiums, arenas to attract entertainment events By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 11:46 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Over the past two decades, sports broadcasts have been evolving toward cinema, deploying multichannel sound and enhanced effects audio worthy of the Star Wars franchise. Today, the venues have taken note and, like the Empire, are beginning to strike back, offering sound systems give fans in the stands an experience resembling the one they would have at home.
We're seeing more concert-level sound systems going into stadiums and arenas now, says Justo Gutierrez, director of sound and A/V, sports venues, for systems integrator Diversified, whose portfolio includes the Dolphins' Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the 49ers' Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Mariners' Safeco Field in Seattle.
That's due in part to the need to make sports venues more accommodating to a wider array of events, from music concerts to touring theatrical shows, such as Disney on Ice. That has become a broader trend in this sector, with venue stakeholders, such as counties and municipalities, demanding improved ROI from stadiums whose price tags have crept past the $1 billion mark, such as the $1.15 billion Cowboys Stadium and $1.6 billion MetLife Stadium. In the process, venue designers are increasingly specifying what's known as rider-friendly sound systems, specifically targeting top-line music shows and other touring productions. The improved sound is also setting the stage for a kind of cinematic sound experience in the venue.
Paul Murdick, GM, technology solutions, at TSI Global, a systems integrator whose sports portfolio includes Busch Stadium, Citi Field, and Edward Jones Dome, says these advanced audio systems are finding their way into venues not necessarily as the main draw for touring shows but as extensions of those shows' own systems, expanding their reach within the venue. They're able to augment the tour requirements, is what I have seen, he explains. The end user/owner is driven by customer-satisfaction experience, and that seems to justify the investment being made for music-concert-quality systems.
More-Creative Sound
It's not just sports anymore, it's entertainment, notes Vance Breshears, director at consultancy Idibri, whose portfolio includes AT&T Park in San Francisco, Chase Field in Phoenix, and the new Angel Stadium of Anaheim (whose sound system was integrated by Diversified). Venues today, from their architecture to their technology systems, are being designed for one thing: the fan experience, the impact on people. In many ways, they're no different from performing-arts center, only more demanding.
The new Angel Stadium of Anaheim features a sound system integrated by Diversified.
That enables sound to be more creatively used in venues, according to Pete O'Neil, director, engineering, Diversified. We're going to see sound used in more ways than it has been used before in stadiums and arenas, including sound as an effect, not just for announcements, he says. The sound in stadiums is evolving, and sound systems are going to be used to literally alter the environment there. We'll be able to bring the ice sounds up to the top rows for ice shows and hockey, something he says only television viewers might have enjoyed before.
That is readily accomplished, he points out, thanks to greater use of networked audio, which lets different elements and zones of a large system be individually controlled. You used to be able only to send the same signal everywhere. Now we can [zone] the system and mix the entire venue like it was a stage.
Adds Gutierrez, We can bring the sound of the skate blades or the squeaks of the sneakers to the stands, no matter where the seat is. [Fans] in the venue can have some of the same experience [viewers] get at home on television.
As important, notes O'Neil, venue owners and managers are now aware of what the possibilities are with this generation of live-sound technology and are specifically asking for such capabilities. The buildings are becoming less about just sports and more about entertainment. It's opening up new possibilities. They see that.
Click here for Tech Focus: Venue Sound, Part 2 - A Thriving Market Poses Challenges for System Suppliers
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
02/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Med Tech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might thin...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
01/07/2026
LONDON, UK, 1 JULY Jigsaw24 has appointed Alan Henry as Head of Sales for Media and Entertainment, reinforcing its continued investment in helping broadcaster...
01/07/2026
Content Vault, the patent-pending secure content distribution platform protecting high-value media from disclosures, theft and unauthorised access, today announ...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. a leading provider of enterprise software and digital media solutions for news, sports and entertainment broadcasters, as well as streaming pla...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Groundbreaking First Nations Screen Business Accelerator launched through nation...
Tech Focus: Venue Sound, Part 1 - Audio Integrators Look To Enhance the Fan Experience Advanced systems enable stadiums, arenas to attract entertainment events By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
