Mohegan Inspire raises the bar with Meyer Sound
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The venue aims to attract 3.5m visitors annually, tapping into the global explosion of K-pop and K-culture. Central to this ambitious plan is the 15,000-seat Inspire Arena, which features a Meyer Sound system.
The arena is built for a wide array of entertainment, from concerts to e-sports tournaments. From the outset, offering turnkey top-of-the-line AV technologies, anchored by world-class sound, was the top priority. “We have a sound system, a lighting system, and a rigging system,” explains Kevin Reilly, Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment’s Corporate Director of Entertainment Technical Operations. “We designed it so a Western act can show up basically with backline and I have sound and lights and video and a stage and barricade all here.”
Reilly, a 27-year Mohegan veteran, says that this rider-friendly approach mirrors that at the organisation’s flagship Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut, which features a Meyer Sound Lyon and Leopard system. “For all of the shows that we’ve done at Mohegan Sun, we don’t hear ‘no, I don’t want to use your Lyon/Leopard rig,’” he says.
Inspire Arena’s Meyer Sound concert PA includes 50 Panther large-format linear line array loudspeakers, six Leopard compact linear line array loudspeakers, 32 1100‑LFC low-frequency control elements, and 32 MJF high-power stage monitors. Leopard compact linear line array loudspeakers serve as front-fills. The system offers Milan capabilities and is managed by a Galileo Galaxy Network Platform.
A powerful Meyer Sound announcement PA system, featuring 109 Lina very compact linear line array loudspeakers and six 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements, adds versatile sound reinforcement support. “We tuned the Meyer PA for the main concert PA, and they tuned the announcement PA for sports,” says Reilly. “I told the Meyer team, ‘I want to do comedy, and I need to tie these together. Can you help me make that happen?’ So I essentially have three separate PAs: the concert PA, the sports PA, and a full concert and delay stack system. You have all the tools here to do what you came to do.”
The sound systems were supplied and installed by Ingang Audio of Seoul, with support from Andrew Poh, Meyer Sound’s technical sales support, Asia; and Charlie Albin, technical support specialist, UK.
The arena soft-opened in December with the 2023 Melon Music Awards show, which was presented in the round using supplemental speakers provided by Sound Alliance Korea.
Other inaugural events included shows by K-pop stars Taemin, TVXQ, and AKMU. The grand opening was on 5 March, followed by performances by the Inspire Salute, featuring K-pop artists PSY and Taeyang; a concert by K-pop star Epik High; and the WTT international table tennis championship.
“Inspire Arena is truly the venue of the future,” says Scott Gledhill, Meyer Sound’s director of international sales. “It’s optimal for live entertainment, and for the K-pop market.”
