JBL and Crown are winning formula at Twickenham Stadium

Vanguardia, Clair Global Integration Europe and Sound Technology recently teamed up to install JBL Professional loudspeakers and Crown amplifiers to enhance the fan experience at Twickenham Stadium.

The 82,000-seater venue has been home to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and England Rugby since 1907, hosting its first match in 1909. The stadium has continually evolved over its long history, with the focus always on the fan experience.

Twickenham’s 20-year-old audio system was no longer supporting that aim so the RFU turned to Vanguardia to create something that would offer the high sound pressure levels it required for the entertainment element, alongside the intelligibility vital in a public address/voice alarm (PA/VA) solution.

The RFU’s venue project manager, Steven Carver says: “The opening line to the team was that it had to be a compliant PA/VA system. We had to make sure we were achieving British standard recommendations within the stadium bowl. Without the stadium PA system to broadcast emergency messages, the stadium couldn’t function.”

Audio key to fan experience
“Life safety is absolutely critical,” adds Mark Lynch, the RFU’s executive director. “That’s the fundamental part of delivering and running any major stadium. But the fan experience is becoming more and more important. Creating that fan experience through audio is key – and it goes beyond rugby. We do concerts, conferences and events, and changing this place to make it a multi-purpose stadium is underpinned by a quality audio system.”

The system recommended for the stadium is based on JBL Professional’s VLA Compact line array solution. This line array benefits from the components found in JBL’s touring systems, but in an installation-friendly package that is IP rated, removing any worries about damage from water ingress.

Photo: Ellie Mitchell Photography

The VLA-C clusters are supported by AWC cabinets, which have been used as the under-balcony fills to ensure maximum coverage. PD6322s have also been supplied to cover the pitch when the stadium is hosting events.

“It was about trying to get a quality audio experience for every single fan in every single seat,” says Lynch. “The feedback we get from fans about the overall experience – led by those JBL speakers – is unbelievable.”

The solution is powered by Crown Professional’s DCi series amplifiers, utilising DriveCore. These have been networked over Dante to provide audio distribution from the centralised DSP solution out into the remote rack rooms.

The Crown amplifiers provide crucial support to the life-safety element of the system. The stadium needed to ensure that it could monitor the integrity of the loudspeaker circuits, which is one of the key functionalities of the DCi.

Joe East, project director at Sound Technology, says: “I’ve been fortunate enough to come to a couple of games, and just listening to comments from other spectators in the stands, it is clear that the system has made a significant improvement to that matchday experience.”