The designer of Kolodruma is the Dutch architect, Sander Douma, creator of some of the largest velodromes in Europe, the most notable in Athens, Monte Carlo, Palma de Majorca, and Manchester. In addition to cycling, the arena can host 22 other sports and operates as a concert venue. It has a seating capacity of 4,800 to 7,500 spectators, depending on its use and configuration. The complex also has large underground car parking, a modern press centre, dressing rooms, coaching facilities, a sports and recreational centre, restaurants and a large retail store for a wide variety of sports merchandise.
The audio systems for Kolodruma velodrome were designed and installed by ProAudio Ltd. Stanislav Petrov, managing director of ProAudio Ltd. explained, "We were involved in the project from its original design, and were chosen for our experience in similar large-scale projects in Bulgaria."
For the main arena, ProAudio Ltd. designed a distributed system using Community R Series loudspeakers. The system consists of 10 R Series R2-94's, four R2-77's, 18 R1-64's, 36 R1-94's, 20 R.5-99's and 22 I215LVS subwoofers. "R Series has a proven track record for audio quality, with outstanding intelligibility and reliability," said Petrov. "Importantly the extensive range also provides the choice of power levels and coverage patterns required for a system accurately tailored to the venue. Our measurements, with NTi test equipment, showed a very even SPL from 100 to 103 dB and STI from 0.57 to 0.69 (room empty) across the venue."
Each Community loudspeaker is powered by a single QSC CX amp channel, controlled via a QSC Q-Sys DSP. Audio sources for the systems are Audio-Technica mics and Tascam combination media player/recorders. ProAudio Ltd. also designed and installed the velodrome's separate Toa VX-2000 based voice evacuation system.
"This is a large and prestigious national project, so we are pleased to have delivered a system that provides excellent results," said Petrov. "Visitors can enjoy excellent audio quality wherever they sit and both the main contractor and Kolodruma's investors are extremely happy with the result."
(Jim Evans)
