The World Cup has grown as a media event with each tournament, with this year’s competitions televised to an estimated two billion viewers in over 200 countries. In preparation for the games, a number of the island nations responded with significant redevelopment programs, both to their stadia and the surrounding areas.
The 17,000-seat Queens Park Oval in Trinidad, the oldest Cricket stadium in the Caribbean, received an extensive makeover that covered both aesthetics and infrastructure. The venue, which has long been known as a bit of an acoustical challenge, was fitted with a new sound system comprising 109 Community R.5-HP loudspeakers, powered by Crown CTS2000 amplification. Raj Patel of the global consulting group ARUP’s New York offices was brought in to oversee that uniform standards were met for intelligibility and acoustical consistency throughout the various stadia.
As Michael Pereira of Trinidad-based AMR Limited explains, the project presented several challenges, the most daunting of which was the timeline. “We had been talking to people about the project for several years now, ever since we found out the 2007 event was being held in the Caribbean,” says Pereira. “But it wasn’t until last summer that we finally got a call to attend some meetings about the Trinidad stadium.”
As if that wasn’t tight enough, it was only after closing on the Queens Park Oval project that AMR were contacted about upgrading the system at Kensington Oval in Barbados and, shortly thereafter, installing a system at the brand new Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. “We were closing contracts in late November for projects that were to be completed by March, giving us just over three months’ time from design to completion,” says Pereira.
With a capacity of 28.000, Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, is one of the largest venues in the region. The stadium underwent a major facelift, including the addition of a new players’ pavilion, a museum, a new media centre and indoor sporting facilities. It also received an updated audio system based around Community R-Series loudspeakers. The main bowl is served by a distributed system of 69 R.5-HPT and 52 R-2 loudspeakers, augmented by six R-1 cabinets for supplemental coverage. Crown CTS2000 amplification powers the system.
AMR Limited also provided sound for the newly-built, 20,000 seat Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in St John’s, Antigua. That system comprises 28 Community R-2 and 24 R.5-HP loudspeakers, again driven by Crown CTS2000 amps. All three venues utilize BSS BLU 80 and BLU 32 DSP for speaker processing.
“Knowing how tight a schedule we were on, we looked into a number of options for these systems,” says Pereira. “Community really offered the best coverage and intelligibility, and with our salt-laden air, their superior weather resistance was another factor.”
As if to confirm their decision, Pereira points out that Community were able to provide the entire order on time and under budget. “Logistics are always a challenge when you’re dealing with the Caribbean,” observes the Trinidad native. “Community not only provided us with the most bang for our buck, but they really went the extra mile to make certain everything arrived on time. Their support was nothing short of stellar.”
