beyerdynamic (now POLARaudio) pioneer world's most advanced Stadium Install...

Marquee Audio have completed a complex and pioneering digitally-based public address/voice evacuation system at Derby County Football Club’s Pride Park stadium, making it arguably the most technically advanced stadium system to date.

In seeking to develop a fully-featured system with complete redundancy, the company approached beyerdynamic, whose technical director, Jon Stanley came up with a design concept. This was duly adapted so that it could be delivered as an integrated and compliant system that would both integrate with the club’s existing infrastructure and extend the scope into the corporate areas and ground control.

Working in conjunction with Stanley, Marquee Audio’s Scott Wakelin project managed the installation of an IP-addressable, fully-monitored, A + B redundant system — both inside the grandstand of the 30,000-seat bowl as well as the general concourse, season ticket holder/executive boxes and five function suites — all with independent source and volume controls.
Breaking from traditional sound system design, the architecture is based around CobraNet audio distribution over CAT5 cabling to each of 44 active Renkus-Heinz ST4 speakers in the main bowl — making Derby the first stadium to use weatherised self-powered cabinets in an outside environment. 

In addition, Renkus-Heinz provided EASE acoustic analysis, that assisted Marquee in meeting the project’s demanding technical specifications and standards.

Renkus-Heinz is just one of a number of brands within the beyerdynamic product portfolio represented at Pride Park.

Biamp’s CobraNet Audia Flex processing and matrixing platform has been successfully implemented in distributing the prioritised audio feeds to each zone in the system. This provides the intelligence behind the audio distribution and contains all the processing, matrixing, routing and priority control.
 
Using the latest touch screen technology the CUE control system has been employed to manage and monitor all aspects of the system 24 hours a day. Five independent rack locations each have the new TouchCUE-S /R rack mount touch panel to display and relay system fault messages in the event of an incident. 

Two MonitorCUE-V master touch screens have been positioned in the stadium for zonal and maintenance paging on match day — one located in the Match Control Room, the other in the Security Room. These are linked to the beyerdynamic MTS 67 microphones to ensure that the correct messages are heard in all zones.

In the event of a fire or emergency the Prodytel output box has been used to automatically distribute voice evacuation messages around the stadium.  Stored as WAV files, these pre-recorded messages are distributed to all concourses, hospitality areas, corridors and the main bowl, providing high quality, clear, intelligible audio at any time.

Marquee Audio have integrated part of the existing 100v line system, which operates outside the bowl. This is powered by ten Bittner eight-channel amplifiers, also distributed by Beyerdynamic, while every speaker is monitored by the Klein and Hummel DLC impedance line controller.  Should any speaker fail, grounds and security staff are immediately notified through sounded alarms and the CUE touch screens throughout the stadium.

Inputs have been provided for Derby County’s existing DJ and background CD system (as well as ancillary mixing equipment), while in the Assa and Toyota Suites, as well as the Business Club, custom facility panels inputs ensure that each room can operate independently for corporate events and conferences.

In using TCP/IP to interconnect and monitor all major aspects of the system infrastructure the opportunity to remotely diagnose and healthcheck the system offsite is now possible. Using the eCUE interface as an http web interface to the entire CUE system control, certain aspects of the long-term system maintenance can be achieved without visiting site in person.

This will enable the club to carry out system diagnostics, print fault record logs and gain information on how the system is coping at any given moment, while Marquee Audio will have access via its own ISDN line, enabling them to monitor performance from wherever they wish.

The entire system is not only safeguarded by full redundancy but also from a battery-operated UPS in the event of power failure.

The installation complies with the standards set out in BS5839; BS7827, BS EN 60849, BS 7671 — mandatory for voice evacuation and public evacuation. It also exceeds the desired RASTI (Rapid Speech Transmission Index), STI scores and SPL requirements for systems of this type. The PA system also conforms to the Green Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds.

Marquee Audio’s Scott Wakelin confirmed, “DCFC are overwhelmed by the solution we have given them; their previous system lacked any quality or coverage around the bowl and subsequently some stands were totally closed to the public on match days for safety reasons.” 

“Thanks to EASE modelling, the new Renkus-Heinz clusters completely cover the entire stadium and the police and safety officers have granted all areas open to the public on match days.”  

The system installation has also been warmly received by the stadium’s management and maintenance staff.
Although Pride Park was only built in 1997, the club’s Safety Facilities Manager, Chris Parsons, believes they now have a stadium set for the future. “We have become the biggest commercial operation in the whole of Derby, with the capability of staging dinners, dances, marriages, boxing matches and even pop concerts, with permission for 8,000 people on the pitch. We know we have a great sound system and are only beginning to find out its full capabilities. I’d be happy to show this off to any club.”
For more information: www.beyerdynamic.co.uk
______________________________________________________________________
MARQUEE AUDIO
Tel: 01932 566 777
www.marqueeaudio.co.uk

Jerry Gilbert
JGP PUBLIC RELATIONS
Tel: 01707 258525
www.jgp-pr.co.uk

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