The installation was completed by Blackburn-based Romers for the start of the 2004 season. It's been a great success, and Harman's guests included Romers' John Caton, who explained the intricacies of the audio remit, and the acoustic challenges they faced at St James' Park. Harman's Dave Budge co-ordinated the event, and was also integrally involved in the St James' Park PA installation project. He stated: "It was an ideal time and place to demonstrate the system in situ to a whole variety of people. There's nothing like hearing something for real to judge its quality and effectiveness."
The Harman event included pitch-side photo opportunities for the Harman team and their guests, dinner, the match itself, post match refreshments and the presentation of a framed Match Day Programme from NUFC to Budge by Man of The Match, Jonathan Woodgate.
The Newcastle system is utilized for pre-game and half time entertainment as well as for public address announcements and integrated into the voice evacuation system. The Newcastle United FC installation itself actually led to the development and subsequent launch of a new production model in JBL's PD5000 installation series - the PD5212/95. The 5212 is proving a popular purchase since its commercials launch. Budge explained: "There was previously nothing on the market offering the pattern control and output to overcome the challenging acoustics of stadia."
Factors helping to win JBL the Newcastle contract included the large and versatile range of enclosures, their flexibility in response to precise client demands and their attention to detail in the quest for getting it exactly right. The new enclosure is aimed at the European stadium and large venue market. Needing a powerful and robust full-range box for the larger stands, Caton chose 24 JBL PD764P-WRC enclosures, passive versions of the PD764, with additional weatherproofing. At 55m from the ground, the throw distance at St James' Park is almost double that of the average stadium.
The lower frequencies are dealt with via eleven JBL PD7145. This is a also special box with a unique design that was driven from the UK, developed for NUFC featuring a 4 x 15" low section, and now added to JBL's CSPELS (Custom Shop Pre-Engineered Loudspeakers).
Other UK JBL stadium installations include Sunderland's Stadium of Light. International projects include the PAC Bell Park, home of the San Francisco Giants; the Vodafone arena in Melbourne, Australia; Soldier Field, Chicago home of the Bears; Ford Field, the new home of the Detroit Lions and the Pro Player Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
