During the planning stages, the city of Rock Hill contacted Butch Bailey and Keith Ludlam of B&K Pro Audio and Lighting to design an audio system for the track. The city wanted clear voice paging and high-quality music covering the entire venue which extends over several acres.
To meet these needs, B&K designed a system using Community's R Series loudspeakers powered by Ashly KLR amplifiers and managed by an Ashly Protea Speaker Processor. They completed the system with a Behringer Ultra-Zone mixer, a Tascam CD player and Audio Technica 3000 Series wireless microphones.
B&K installed the loudspeakers on the track's welcome sign and in other supporting locations. They aimed a pair of Community R.5 loudspeakers at the BMX track, a second pair at the pump track and a single R.5 at the starting ramp. They added a pair of higher-power R2-94 loudspeakers to cover the bleachers and a single R2-77 for a large overflow area. Announcements are made from the starting ramp although the city plans to add an announcement booth on the bleachers.
Novant Health BMX celebrated its Grand Opening on Saturday, 23 August, 2014 and Bailey says the new audio system exceeded the city's expectations. The Rock Hill Herald reported that the event attracted an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 2000 people including seven top professional racers and a three-time national champion.
(Jim Evans)
