Athletic Field Sound System

The Client

Location:

Joel Barlow High School
Redding, CT

Brief Description of the Location:

Public High School for grades 9-12 with 891 enrolled students. They consider football one of their biggest sport programs and games are heavily attended by the local community.

The Challenge

The school had just built a new athletic field for their sports programs, but had no public address system. The challenge was to install a system that would be adequate for outdoor sound to cover both the home booth and the playing field. We had to overcome environment concerns, including trees and weather, be aware of neighboring residential areas, and make sure that we created enough sound for the entire seating area.

The Solution

First, we visited the site and performed a site analysis which included discussing the goals of the project, the size and purpose of the field, the location of needed equipment, and the budget.

Then, we developed a plan to accomplish the school’s goals. First, we installed high fidelity Community R25-94Z speakers, which are designed for athletic fields and stadiums for outdoor music and public address. Since these speakers have weather resistance and UV enclosure, they were perfect for our environment. Additionally, these speakers have 90 x 40-degree patterns as well as flexible mounting. We mounted three speakers to the front of the press box to cover the Home bleachers and field areas.

Due to the fact that the students would be the primary users and would most likely be formally trained on the system’s use, the system needed to be intuitive. Therefore, inside the booth, we installed a simple to use a tabletop audio mixer with feedback elimination. Also, there are two handheld microphones purposed to remain on the counter for announcements. Furthermore, a secondary wireless microphone is available for an announcer in the seating area or field area as needed. Moreover, all of the equipment is capable of being disconnected for winter storage within the booth. By listening to the customer, we delivered exactly what the customer desired without unnecessarily complicating the project.

Manufacturers Utilized

• - Altas Sound
• - Behringer
• - Community Sound
• - Mackie
• - Middle Atlantic
• - Shure