The Opportunity
Located within Cairo’s New Administrative Capital, the New Administrative Capital Stadium serves as a premier destination for professional football matches, international sporting events, concerts, ceremonies and large-scale public gatherings. As one of Egypt’s largest venues, the stadium required an audio system capable of delivering clear, intelligible announcements across expansive seating areas while maintaining reliable performance during high-profile events.
The venue faced significant acoustic challenges, including high ambient crowd noise, long throw distances and the need for consistent coverage throughout the stadium bowl. In addition to supporting day-to-day operations and event production, the system needed to provide dependable emergency communications, flexible zoning capabilities and long-term durability in harsh outdoor environmental conditions. Stadium operators sought a networked audio platform that would enable centralized control, simplify system management and ensure consistent performance for every event.
The Solution
To meet these requirements, the New Administrative Capital Stadium implemented a HARMAN Professional ecosystem featuring JBL Professional loudspeakers, Crown amplifiers and BSS Soundweb processing.
The stadium-wide sound reinforcement system is built around JBL Professional VLA-C256 loudspeakers configured into 20 clusters installed around the venue perimeter. Each cluster consists of multiple VLA-C256 elements arranged in compact vertical arrays, providing precise vertical coverage control and long-throw performance throughout the seating bowl. Mounted along the roof structure and aimed toward spectator areas, the loudspeaker system was designed to maximize intelligibility while minimizing reflections and unwanted acoustic interference.
The installation delivers average sound pressure levels between 96 and 100 dBA, with peak levels reaching 108 dBA. System tuning achieved coverage consistency within ±3 dB across most seating sections, while Speech Transmission Index (STI) values ranging from 0.55 to 0.65 help ensure clear, understandable announcements even during peak crowd noise conditions.
Audio routing, equalization, delay alignment and zoning are managed by BSS Soundweb London BLU-806 signal processors, allowing operators to control audio distribution across spectator seating, concourses, VIP spaces and other operational zones. Crown DCi DriveCore Network Series amplifiers provide reliable high-output performance and integrated monitoring capabilities, enabling real-time diagnostics and remote system management.
The entire system is connected through the stadium’s fiber-optic network, supporting low-latency audio transport between the central control room and distributed amplifier locations. This architecture improves signal integrity across long distances while providing redundancy for critical communication and emergency messaging applications.
To ensure long-term reliability in Cairo’s demanding outdoor environment, the JBL Professional VLA-C Series loudspeakers feature IP55-rated weather protection, helping the system withstand heat, dust and exposure while minimizing maintenance requirements.
The Result
The completed installation provides the New Administrative Capital Stadium with a high-performance audio platform capable of supporting sporting events, concerts, ceremonies and public gatherings of virtually any scale. The JBL Professional loudspeaker system delivers consistent sound coverage and speech intelligibility throughout the venue, enabling spectators to clearly hear announcements, event information and emergency communications regardless of seating location.
By combining JBL Professional loudspeakers with Crown amplification and BSS networked processing, the stadium benefits from centralized control, flexible zoning and simplified system operation. Operators can efficiently manage audio distribution throughout the venue while maintaining reliable performance during both daily activities and major televised events.
Since commissioning, stadium management and event organizers have reported improved announcement clarity, enhanced operational control and dependable system performance during large-scale events. With a venue-wide HARMAN Professional audio ecosystem in place, the New Administrative Capital Stadium strengthens its position as a premier destination for sports and entertainment, delivering consistent, intelligible sound for every event and every spectator.
