Sound
reinforcement for the
"Monsters of the Midway”
Opened in late September after a fast-track build schedule that commenced
as soon as the NFL Chicago Bears finished the 2001 season, the new Soldier
Field is a truly unique hybrid. The “shell” and unmistakable
pillars of the ancient original stadium, built as a tribute to U.S. soldiers
and located right on Chicago’s beautiful lakefront, was retained,
with a state-of-the-art facility built within that framework.
The sound system for the venue, designed by WJHW and installed by SPL
Integrated Solutions (which also supplied custom engineering services),
features a unique cross-firing loudspeaker configuration, necessary given
the venue’s architecture. Large-scale JBL clusters, made up of technologies
from VerTec and AE Series tailored by the company to meet the specific
needs of the project, are installed on shock-isolated structures anchored
to the stadium roof. This provides sound reinforcement to the vast majority
of the stadium bowl seating.
Coverage to shadowed seating areas is supplied by a distributed system,
also made up of JBL loudspeakers. Crown CTS Series amplification, outfitted
with IQ-P.I.P. cards that facilitate computer control, drive the system,
with processing and matrixing handled by BSS Soundweb units located in
the control room. The system is headed by a Soundcraft K2 mixing console,
with a wealth of source devices available.
Folks we see in the photos include SPL's James Mascenic on the stadium
roof, as well as LD Parker of SPL and Harman's Brad Ricks doing final
tweaking.
Click on any of the images to see their full size...
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
