EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – For more than three decades, the Meadowlands has been a part of life for New York area football fans. When plans were begun to replace the aging arena, some fans were surprised to learn that, rather than a modern domed structure, the new stadium would be built in much the same traditional open-bowl style as the old one.
But while the aerial view of the new Meadowlands Stadium is reminiscent of the original Meadowlands, the similarities stop there. The new stadium is bigger and enhanced with new AV and broadcast technologies. It has more than 2,000 HD monitors, four massive HD video replay boards and new sound and broadcast systems.
"These are no longer just stadiums," said Ted Leamy, chief operating officer of Pro Media Ultrasound in Hercules, CA, the company behind the AV system design and installation. "They're multi-use campuses. It's no longer a football field with a few cameras and some loudspeakers. These are extensive high-tech TV broadcast studio facilities, and they're playing football down on the field."
The stadium's audio technology is also new, centered around an Avid VENUE SC48 console that is intrinsic to both the in-park audio and broadcast systems. As Leamy noted, sonic quality was a major factor in selecting the VENUE platform. "Nowadays audio quality has to be as high-quality as the video, and the VENUE is one of the best-sounding consoles out there. We use them on tour with Dylan, Dave Matthews, and other high-profile artists, and it's a great-sounding system."
Although the New York Giants and Jets had shared the old Meadowlands for many years, the new Meadowlands is the first stadium purpose-built to be home to two different NFL teams. As the stadium's audio consultant Jeff McGinnis noted, that creates a different set of requirements.
"Both teams have their own production crews, and the console can be configured differently for a Jets or Giants game," he said. "We knew there would be lots of different people operating the console, so the simplicity and flexibility of the VENUE system was an important consideration."
"Part of our job as systems integrators is to train the client's operators on the console," added Jim Kinkella, sales and project manager at Pro Media Ultrasound. "The SC48 is an easy transition from an analog mixer, and that makes it exceptionally easy for new users to grasp."
"One of our objectives in designing the system was to be able to run the mix from multiple locations within the park," said McGinnis. "Using fiber connections, we can set up the console in its home position or at any of several locations down in the bowl. The SC48 is small and light enough to easily move around, and flexible enough to reconfigure for different scenarios."
"For us, the VENUE system is a proven technology," said Leamy. "We're audio engineers ourselves, not just installers, and we use the VENUE system every day, all year long, on some of the most demanding tours. And that same mission-critical VENUE technology is a perfect fit for the NFL."
For more information, please visit www.avid.com.
