Stadiums and arenas are about much more than just delivering engaging matchups, a significant amount of time is spent designing and delivering impeccable customer experiences throughout the venue. From the time guests arrive until the moment they leave, venues need a dynamic and intelligible system that ensures every seat in the house sounds great. From bars, restaurants and luxury suites to merchandise shops, concourses and even restrooms – every space visited by customers should be richly and clearly heard.

Competing with the roar of the crowd at UBS Arena can be challenging. See how this HARMAN solution addressed the needs of this venue.

To do this, stadium and arena owners must ensure every meter of their venue is optimized properly to deliver maximum return on investment and create experiences that bring guests back again and again. Having the ideal audio components to address these needs can make or break a successful install. HARMAN Professional specializes in complete audio, video, lighting, and control solutions for stadiums and arenas and has been ensuring the technical needs of these venues just about as long as the market has existed.

The primary goal for sound systems in stadiums, arenas or any venue is to elevate the listening experience. The complexity of so many different areas in these spaces can be challenging to any audio system designer. HARMAN has a portfolio of products that ensure a spectacular experience in and out of the bowl, throughout concourse areas, and anywhere in between.

“Speech intelligibility plays a huge role in EN 54 protocols, and the JBL speakers deliver excellent STI levels…” Explore France’s Stade Saint-Symphorien installation.

The JBL Professional loudspeaker portfolio allows designers to offer dedicated solutions for different sizes of venues adapted to the demands of any area. With active and passive speakers that have been developed by JBL engineers with high standards of performance and quality control for many different applications, we can deliver the world’s leading stadium and arena solutions. Some of our most popular installed products include:

  • SLP Sleek Low-Profile Speakers for use in concourse and guest suite spaces. These on-wall loudspeakers provide superior sound and broad, consistent coverage in a sleek, low-profile enclosure that delivers the legendary sound that JBL is known for.
  • AWC Compact & AW Series All-Weather for outdoor areas and small to medium-sized stadiums. These high-power, lightweight, two-way, full-range systems are built for a wide variety of all-weather applications.
  • PD Series Precision Directivity Large-Format Point Source Speakers for medium to large stadiums. These loudspeaker systems consist of four horn-loaded 15″ two-way systems and one dual 15″ subwoofer and include horn coverage patterns of 40⁰x40⁰, 60⁰x40⁰, 60⁰x60⁰, and 90⁰x50⁰.
  • VLA Compact Series Line Arrays for use in large stadium applications. They are designed specifically for permanent installation applications requiring even coverage, high intelligibility, and audio levels capable of overcoming crowd noise.

Additionally, Crown amplifiers are available in any configuration to power every meter of any stadium or arena with precision and efficiency. BSS signal processors ensure the world’s most complex designs are supported and processed accurately. AKG professional mics and headphones, Soundcraft mixers, AMX video and control, and Martin lighting are all industry-leading HARMAN Professional brand technologies with products that support every integrated need.

INSIDE REAL WORLD HARMAN STADIUM & ARENA INSTALLS
Discover some of our high-profile stadium and arena installations, including insight from the designers and the products that ensured these projects met and exceeded their goals.

 

  • UBS Arena, USA
    • “One great thing about this system is it’s all in one family of products. Everything talks to each other and integrates well.” – Brian Jones, AV Systems Engineer In Charge, UBS Arena.
    • Includes over 950 JBL loudspeakers, including eight main bowl arrays of VTX A12 line arrays, VTX S28 subwoofers, and a variety of AWC Series and VRX Series loudspeakers. The system is powered by Crown I-Tech Series and DCi Series amplifiers, with network control and signal processing provided by BSS.

 

Mahajak Development Co. Ltd. deployed dynamic and weather-resistant JBL Professional speakers, Crown audio amplifiers, Soundcraft consoles and BSS signal processors to support Thailand’s Nakhon Ratchasima Sports Complex. Learn more.

 

  • Munsu Football Stadium, South Korea
    • “The stadium has achieved the best sound quality among the ten World Cup stadiums in Korea, and is now one of the superior stadiums in the world” – Spokesperson, Munsu Football Stadium.
    • JBL VTX A8 line array loudspeakers are the system’s primary solution. Additionally, the IP55-rated JBL AWC129 and VLA-C2100  loudspeakers reinforce the sound and coverage. Crown amplifiers ensured clean amplification throughout and BSS signal processors ensure low-latency and responsive processing.

 

  • Stade Saint-Symphorien, France
    • “I love using JBL speakers because they sound great right out of the box… When the customer first heard the full system in action, they remarked that the sound quality was as good as you would experience at a concert!” – Laurent Delenclos, Technical Director.
    • The team distributed clusters of JBL AWS526-LS and AWS566-LS all-weather speakers supplemented by JBL ASB7128 subwoofers for additional low-frequency extension. The team outfitted the concourse and locker room areas with JBL Control 25AV-LS and 14C-VA ceiling loudspeakers.

 

  • Bloomfield Stadium, Israel
    • “It was a challenging project, so the very detailed plans we got from HARMAN helped a great deal.” – Harel Tabibi, Independent Consultant.
    • The system includes 80 JBL PD564 WRC loudspeakers, which have high output capability, excellent pattern control, and are ideal for music and speech systems. The stadium was also equipped with 12 PD6322 WRC loudspeakers. The speakers were powered by 16 of Crown’s flagship I-TECH 4X3500-HD amplifiers.

Download our ‘Loudspeakers for Sports Facilities’ Design Guide for deep insight into the design process.

UNWAVERING START-TO-FINISH SUPPORT
Another key component of how HARMAN supports its customers and partners better than anyone else is market strategy with a focus on local support. Professional products are dedicated solutions that require proper support throughout the entire sales process starting with the information connection with the owners to post-sale support delivered by our partners.

Exceeding client satisfaction at every stage of the process is our highest priority. In-country distributors and representatives are the direct contact for any project and are key in providing support. Our partners also ensure high value to the entire process through technical knowledge and deep expertise. The HARMAN Professional team looks forward to supporting your next stadium or arena design, installation or upgrade. To locate a representative near you, please visit our WORLDWIDE LOCATOR.

 

EXPLORE FURTHER
Dive into our support resources to get complete details, specifications, and more:

READY TO TALK TO A SOLUTIONS EXPERT?
If you are interested in JBL stadium, arena or other professional audio support, we have a solutions expert ready to assist you.

 

José Carlos Barbosa & Steffan Lewis

José Carlos Barbosa is Senior Manager for Stadiums and Arenas for HARMAN Professional and Steffan Lewis is Senior Applications Engineer for Installed Audio for HARMAN Professional.