Tech Focus: Venue Sound, Part 2 - For Multi-Use Spaces, the Gear Makes the Difference A look at the components that give three venues their edge By Dan Daley, Audio Editor Wednesday, May 7, 2025 - 7:00 am
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Sports venues are benefiting from a growing array of very specific sound-system components. Here are some of the elements going into their systems.
Click here Tech Focus: Venue Sound, Part 1 - Chasing the Fan Experience.
New multi-use Frontwave Arena, home to the NBA's San Diego Clippers and the San Diego Sockers soccer team, boasts a high-end sound system installed by Sound Image.
Oceanside in San Diego County has opened its first multi-use venue: the new Frontwave Arena. Home to the San Diego Clippers (basketball) and the San Diego Sockers (soccer), the 7,500-capacity, 170,000-sq.-ft. space features a high-end sound system - installed by Sound Image, a Clair Global brand - that reaches every seat while minimizing sight-line interruption. The venue's first touring show was the first stop of 2024's Gold Over America Tour (GOAT), led by 11-time-Olympic-medalist gymnast Simone Biles.
The main PA system comprises JBL PD6322 three-way and PD6212 two-way PD Series loudspeakers, chosen for its high output and pattern control. The sub package comprises 24 JBL ASB6115's arranged in a dual-facing laterally steered array. The venue's subwoofer installation is configured with under-balcony fills of JBL AC18/26 and JBL CBT70J-1 side fills, amplified by Crown DCI Series. Sound is mixed through a DiGiCo S21, alongside a DiGiCo DQ Dante rack. Wireless microphones are Shure ULX-D, with RF Venue D-FIN antennas.
Frontwave Arena also deploys noise reduction, reverberation, echo, and distortion absorption via acoustic-insulation applications within the arena bowl.
This part of San Diego County has never had a venue like this, says Sound Image Project Manager Hans Haas, who oversaw design and implementation of the project. It has already become a great activity hub for the community. No two integrations are ever alike, but with a venue so local to our San Diego office, there's an added level of hometown' satisfaction here.
Home of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, Amalie Arena has a new Meyer Sound Panther sound system centered on 96 Panther loudspeakers.
Amalie Arena, home of three-time Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, has hosted NHL and NCAA games, the 2012 Republican National Convention, and concerts by Madonna, Elton John, Drake, and Bad Bunny. In 2023, the 670,000-sq.-ft. venue added a Meyer Sound Panther system, provided and installed by Solotech.
The new system is centered on 96 Panther loudspeakers in two horn variants, supported by 14 Leopard compact linear line-array loudspeakers, 20 2100 LFC low-frequency control elements, and 19 ULTRA X40 compact loudspeakers. Systems are managed by Galileo Galaxy 816 and 408 network platforms and are configured in a hybrid MILAN/Dante network. The arena also incorporates Meyer Sound's Spacemap Go spatial sound design and mixing tool and is experimenting with immersive audio.
We have the ability to immerse people in sound and do it differently, explains Andrew McIntyre, SVP, technology and innovation, Vinik Sports Group (VSG), which operates the venue. It doesn't have to be just loud; it can actually be more robust. We used to have a 15-year-old Pinto, and now we have a Cadillac. Most important, fans now enjoy a premium sound experience in every seat.
The new sound system has an economic component as well, allowing the venue to elevate the value proposition that your Lightning game ticket has, says John Franzone, SVP, game presentation, VSG, adding, and, by extension, all the other events that we have here in Amalie Arena that make use of this sound system. Suddenly, it becomes a very potent, nice little weapon to have when you're in the event entertainment industry.
Home to the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies and University of Memphis men's basketball, the multi-use FedExForum features an L-Acoustics Kara IIi sound system in keeping with the city's musical heritage.
The 800,000-sq.-ft. interior of the FedExForum celebrates Memphis's musical heritage, with artwork featuring locals like Justin Timberlake, B.B. King, and Elvis Presley. Even the venue's dining spaces, the Opus Restaurant and the Blue Note Lounge, reflect the theme. Not surprisingly, the venue - home to the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies and the NCAA Division I men's basketball of the University of Memphis - tries to keep its sonic signature at a certain level, too.
The 19,000-capacity multipurpose arena installed an L-Acoustics Kara IIi system in time for the current NBA season, designed by consultancy WJHW and implemented by integrator Solotech. It has also been used by visiting music artists, Billy Strings, Jhen Aiko, Justin Timberlake, and Maxwell.
The original system from 2004 couldn't meet current requirements for music playback expected by today's fans, explains WJHW Principal Mark Graham, who led the system design. The arena's new rigging infrastructure covering two-thirds of the venue floor required an audio design that could deliver powerful performance within a compact footprint.
The new system features eight arrays of 15 Kara IIi each, powered by LA7.16i amplified controllers, with two KS28 subs per hang powered by LA12X. In addition, two dozen coaxial X12 enclosures are used as delays for the upper-deck seating on the north and south ends, with eight larger X15's installed directly under the scoreboard as court fills.
Whether watching the Grizzlies or Tigers or attending one of our many concerts or shows, guests of FedExForum are experiencing connections to our events like never before, says Seth Tackett, senior director
