The redeveloped Eden Park, which will host the Opening Ceremony and Game as well as the Final, also features an internal concourse that will allow people to circulate around the grounds inside the stadium and world-class facilities, including food and beverage outlets, toilets and corporate areas.
As well as an update of facilities, the Stadium has had a complete overhaul of its sound systems by Bartons Sound Systems (BSS), subcontracted to Fletcher Construction to design and implement combined music, PA and evacuation systems.
BSS and acoustic consultants Marshall Day Acoustics used EASE and SoundPlan software to create a 3D acoustic model of the Stadium to help them overcome the complexity of the project including design issues relating to stringent environmental concerns.
Project manager Robert Waddell says a key design element is the combination of the professional PA system with the fire evacuation system. To achieve this Robert specified a Bosch Praesideo system which has been integrated with the Electro-Voice IRIS-Net system. The processing and communication of both audio signals and control data entirely in the digital domain makes the system superior to other currently available public address and emergency sound systems.
The system's optical network offers Waddell total freedom in system design, interference-free audio and a high level of redundancy that traditional systems cannot offer. It is fully programmable, and interfaces with other security systems.
The operator has a simple system comprising of a PC from which he can remotely monitor the complete system - from microphones going in through the NetMax DSP processors to the amplifiers and speakers throughout the entire stadium.
"On event day the operator can click on icons on the screen, which is running under the IRIS-Net software the proprietary software that integrates all of the Bosch products together under one network, such as a speaker and if they're green he knows they're OK," says Bryan Davidson, Bosch's senior engineer. "If an icon is red he can then click on it to easily find the problem and fix it."
The Stadium bowl system features the new Electro-Voice Innovations EVH-1152S/66PI horn loaded speakers of which there are 15 clusters of three.
"The EVH-1152S/66PI doesn't sound at all like a horn-loaded box, rather like a front loaded box," commented Davidson. "I built an Ease model for the stadium and looked at various solutions, then I got the data for the EVH and it looked great. It maintains pattern control down to 400 Hz whereas other speakers tend to stop at best 500 Hz. EVH is a winner not only acoustically but price wise, it's a very cost effective solution for stadiums."
(Jim Evans)
