BEMIDJI, MN – Opened in late 2010, the Bemidji Regional Event Center (BREC) is an 185,000 square-foot multi-purpose facility with an arena and exhibition space. The arena seats 4,700 for ice hockey but can accommodate up to 6,000 for concert events. The venue is the new home to the Division 1 Bemidji State University men's and women's hockey teams.
The audio system in the BREC is based around Community Professional's iBOX Series, which was specified by John Miller, consultant for Austin-based BAi, LLC. Ben Stowe, President of NLfx Professional, headquartered in Bemidji, noted, "We had previously installed Community at BSU's gymnasium and football field and we were really pleased with the results, so it was great to be able to put it in the home of BSU hockey.
"Minnesotans take their hockey pretty seriously," Stowe continued, "and when you have a team with the tradition and pedigree that BSU does you can count on especially ardent fans. The games are well attended and the arena can get VERY loud, so the system has to be capable of some high SPL while maintaining clarity and intelligibility." The convention center audio system is linked to the arena's sound system via CobraNet utilizing QSC's BASIS system. QSC amplification drives the system.
Stowe gave the iBOX high marks for both performance and design aesthetics. "Community iBOX is exceptional for many applications, and sports facilities are at the top of my list," he said. The nice thing about the iBOX is that all of the boxes were the same size and shape, regardless of how they were loaded and purposed. That allows for a clean, streamlined appearance throughout the project. It also made installation fast because all of the rigging materials were consistent, so the guys never had to worry about what parts they had in the lifts."
For more information, please visit www.communitypro.com.
