In the Friends Arena in Solna (near Stockholm), Sweden
has a new national stadium. Three years in the construction, the 65,000-seater
stadium, designed in accordance with the most modern precepts and equipped with
a retractable roof, was opened at the end of last year. The stadium will serve
as a venue not only for major sporting events, such as the Sweden vs. England
association football match that took place on November 14th, but also for major
events from the worlds of music and entertainment. In terms of concept,
architecture, design and equipment, the Friends Arena is one of the most modern
multi-function stadiums in Europe.
The invitation to tender for the sound
reinforcement solution was won by the English firm LBI Projects – one of the
world’s leading specialists in stadium sound. In addition to its impressive
reference list, in which names like “Wembley Stadium” catch the eye, it was the
“compact, elegant and efficient sound design concept” proposed by LBI Projects,
as that company’s James Hurst is well aware, that clinched the deal. The core
of the sound reinforcement solution is made up of powerful, compact XLD281
elements from Electro-Voice’s XLVC line array system.
“The XLD281 three-way cabinet is
light and visually unobtrusive, sounds excellent and provides very good
coverage of the bass frequencies without requiring any support from
subwoofers,” says Hurst. The XLD281 elements are operated with FIR filters,
which Hurst considered essential if the required system performance was to be
achieved. “Naturally, we also fine-tuned the system,” adds Hurst, “in this case
by toning down the preset boosts at 170 Hz, which, whilst it may on a
subjective level have led to an initial reduction in loudness, markedly
improved transparency – an important quality often notable for its absence in
major stadiums.”
THe complete audio installation in the Friends Arena is
integrated into a redundant Dante audio network on a gigabit, single-mode
fibre-optic basis. Nine compact system racks feed all the loudspeakers in the
arena. Each of the racks is equipped with CPS 8.5 power amplifiers with
RCM-810 remote modules and redundant NetMax N8000 controllers with DM-1
modules for integration into the Dante network. Four identically configured
racks are located beneath the roof; these feed not only the twelve markedly
curved XLD281 hangs serving the stands but also the eight horn-loaded
EVH-1152S/66 coaxial systems from the EV-Innovation family covering the
playing area, with one quarter of the stadium assigned to each rack. Five
additional system racks are housed in the ground floor of the arena; these
serve all the ancillary zones, such as passageways, catering facilities and
areas not normally open to the public, including the banqueting hall, which
is equipped with 14 EVF-1152S/64 loudspeakers. Full control and supervision
of all the racks is assured by IRIS-Net software.
As is
generally the case with modern stadium installations, the sound reinforcement
system in the Friends Arena is linked to the evacuation system. The latter,
in this case, consists of around 500 ceiling loudspeakers, complemented by
340 horn-loaded speakers for recorded music, 75 bi-directional loudspeakers
and three Digital Message Players – all from Bosch. As soon as danger
threatens, the voice-alarm system assumes control of the entire system. The
result: simple, intuitive handling and the swiftest possible reaction in the
event of an emergency.
