Drury University - O'Reily Family Event Center

SYMPHONY IN A GYM

O’Reilly Family Event Center ups technology factor.

BY DAWN ALLCOT

Tony Bishop of T.E. Bishop Consulting and Design (www.tebishop.com) described the new O’Reilly Family Event Center on the campus of Drury University in Springfield MO as “a sports arena that sounds like a musical performance space.” He admitted, “Many folks were skeptical about having a ’symphony in a gym’.” But the superior acoustical design skills of Dr. Bruce Moore (a professor at the Drury University Hammond School of Architecture), sound design by Bishop and the processing capabilities of a Peavey MediaMatrix NION for the Renkus-Heinz sound system made it possible.

Biggest Challenge -

Pete Radecki, Vice President in charge of facilities for the college, said that finding a compromise between a good space for concerts and a good space for sports was one of the project’s biggest challenges for the sound consultant and the acoustician: “If you want to have a lot of energy in an arena for a game, you wouldn’t do any acoustical treatment. Let the sound bounce off the walls and, even with 10 people in the place, it’ll be loud. Obviously, that doesn’t work well when you’re holding a concert.” He offered a realistic, yet favorable, assessment of the arena’s capabilities. “If someone is looking for a premier concert hall, this isn’t it. But we’ve had two symphony pops concerts in the space, and they’ve been great!” In completing the audiovisual design in the new 3100-seat arena, Bishop, who designed and laid out the sound systems in the rooms and also consulted on the video aspects of the project, faced many challenges, not the least of which was fulfilling every item on the client’s wish list for the space .Springfield MO-based Killian Digital (www.killiandigital.com) installed the audio systems, while nearly all the video components, including a 9'x16' LED screen on the south end of the venue, were supplied and installed by Brookings SD-based Daktronics (www.daktronics.com). The Killian Digital team included David Simone, Project Manager, and Andrew Mitzel, Lead Technician, along with Killian President Spencer Cox. Joe Kurta of TechSpa in Winter Park FL (www.techspa.net) was responsible for programming the NION system. Killian’s Cox commended the entire AV team that worked on the project, noting, “As a consultant, Tony was extremely hands-on throughout the project. He was always available to answer questions about functionality and the owner’s expectations. The success of the project definitely is attributable to the professional relationship between Tony and our team.” In addition to audio in the main arena, the project comprised AV systems in a banquet hall and VIP suites that sit on the concourse level, as well as an adjacent outdoor courtyard area, which includes Tannoy outdoor speakers.

Audio For Multiple Purposes -

The main space in the O’Reilly Family Event Center is a horseshoe-shaped arena, with collapsible bleachers at the south, or open, end of the horseshoe seating arrangement. When the bleachers are not up, a stage resides on that end. As Radecki related, the school wanted a compromise between a high-energy environment for sporting events and a system that would be adequate for all manner of public speakers and presenters, concerts, school graduations and other public events. The client also wanted to be able to set up the venue in a center-stage configuration or with a stage at the south end. With this in mind, Bishop considered the possibility of remote mix locations for the Yamaha 01V digital mixer, without actually having to move the mixer; this was another design challenge Bishop faced—and met—head-on. Bishop specified a speaker system consisting of Renkus-Heinz STX2/64 12-inch three-way speakers, TRX121T/9 12-inch two-way speaker, and a collection of 15-inch and 12-inch subwoofers. Three speakers cover each of the long sides of the horseshoe, with four speakers in the bowl area. Three speakers on the floor cover the floor seating, as well as a student seating area on the open end of the court. Bishop likes the Renkus-Heinz products because of the smoother, more intelligible voice reproduction offered by three-way speakers. He explained: “I prefer three-way speakers because the primary intelligibility range for spoken word is from about 500Hz up to about 3500Hz. Two-way speakers tend to put the crossover point right in the middle of that intelligibility range. With threeway speakers, I can keep the speech intelligibility range in a paper driver

rather than a high frequency driver.” Additionally, the dual concentric horns in the Renkus-Heinz boxes have the high range and mid-frequency exiting out of the same wave guide for even greater voice intelligibility, he offered. This was important in this application during sporting events and public speaking engagements.

Architectural Blueprints -

Bishop laid out the speakers first based on architectural blueprints, using EASE modeling software. Crest Audio CA Series amplifiers power the system. Although the right speaker choice was important, Bishop is quick to credit the room’s excellent acoustics, designed by Dr. Bruce Moore, for a good portion of the project’s success. “It’s one of the best-sounding arenatype venues out there, so that made my job a lot easier,” Bishop said. The MediaMatrix NION also played a large role in fulfilling the client’s requirements for a flexible space. The NION is programmed with eight different pre-sets that alter the configuration of the speakers, depending on the application and the seating arrangement. “We can change any speaker’s zero time alignment point from the center of the room to a stage set up on the open end and also turn different speakers on or off,” Bishop explained. TechSpa’s Joe Kurta completed the NION programming remotely, a huge time saver when it came to tuning the system. Killian’s Cox, who worked closely with Kurta, reported, “Once the court floor was painted, sealed and dry, we only had a few days to EQ and commission the main audio before the first event. It was extremely important that Joe was able to connect his laptop wirelessly to the NION and manipulate settings in real time as he roamed the floor and sat in dozens of seat locations. The process would have taken ages if he’d had to physically connect to the DSP and deploy settings each

time a change was made.”

Time Was Short -

Time was one thing in short supply during this project. The installer faced schedule challenges from the start, while hanging the speakers and building equipment racks. “We only had a few weeks between the time the conduit was ready and the ceiling was painted before they were to start laying the court floor,” Cox said. “In that time, we had to pull all the 10AWG speaker wire, install the speaker and subwoofer rigs, and aim the speakers according to Tony’s EASE plots. Once the court floor was installed, there was no opportunity to bring in a lift to make adjustments or changes. We had to nail it the first time.” Often, installers save time on a tight project by building the racks offsite in the shop. But with rack locations in tight, hard-to-access spaces, Killian Digital had to complete all the rack work onsite. Cox credited Project Manager David Simone’s diplomacy skills as a key to getting the job done in time. “David overcame all obstacles normally associated with working among other trades in a new construction project.. He’s able to get things done in a physically challenging and high-pressure work environment.” In addition to the rig for the main PA, the arena also includes rigging for visiting bands and performers to bring in their own systems. Bishop made sure the space had all the power requirements necessary, and audio, video and fiberoptic connectivity throughout the venue.

Multiple Mix Locations -

Certainly, the O’Reilly Family Event Center is a unique space—the only kind of its quality in Division 2 college basketball, according to many people and Bishop decided to apply a unique solution to the question of where toplace the Yamaha 01V mixer. “One of the challenges I’ve run across in doing basketball arenas is the placement of the mixer,” he said. “The actual mix location typically can’t be at an optimal place for the operator to hear and mix correctly.” Bishop had been toying with a solution to this problem for some time, and implemented it at the O’Reilly Center. “I’ve been working on being able to address a digital mixer via a simple control surface at the mix location rather than having a full-blown mixer there.” Bishop connected a JL Cooper Fade-Master Pro MIDI controller to the Yamaha 01V, which is located in the equipment room situated in an entry tunnel on the floor. He ran the MIDI through Cat5 cabling because of the long run, and set up five different mix locations on the floor or on a platform above the floor where operators can plug in the FadeMaster Pro and control the volume on eight channels of the mixer. “That’s all they need for athletics,” he said. “They’re not dealing with changing EQ, because it’s typically the same announcer and same scenarios. So, instead of having to carry and plug in an entire mixer and all the wires involved for mic inputs, they just have a small case that they interface via Cat5.” During musical and speaking performances, the Yamaha 01V typically is brought to a front-of-house mix location set up opposite the stage on the north end of the arena floor. When visiting performers bring in their own mixer but use the house speakers, they

can bypass the 01V with a direct input into the house sound system. Multiple floor boxes also provide the capability for a variety of other mix locations without long cable runs. Mix locations include a booth above the luxury boxes, the score table on media row or even the video edit room, which is an office in the office suites located on the concourse level. “There’s a lot of sophistication and a lot of flexibility,” Radecki said. ‘A Bit Of A Risk’ It wasn’t only Bishop who experimented with unique solutions to common problems in sports arenas. Radecki reported that the architects and to put the concession stands right on the concourse, rather than outside the main arena, as most sports venues do. “This was a bit of a risk for us, but we feel it’s been working well,” he said. “With this layout, you can stand in line for your beverage and still watch the game.” This layout created the potential for disruptive noise during games and other performances, but Radecki said it turned out to be a non-issue. “Still,” he said, “we wondered going in how it would work out and, once it was complete, if it didn’t work, there was nothing we could have done about it.”

Banquet Hall, VIP Suites -

The location of the concession stands, as well as VIP suites and a banquet hall that leads out to the concourseand also an outdoor courtyard, contributes to a very open and easily accessible floor plan in the venue. The banquet hall has sliding glass walls that open directly onto the concourse, so the Center can host a banquet that spills onto the concourse. The sports department often hosts events in the hall between doubleheader games. “By opening the doors, we can do this all inside the space without having to go from one room to another,” Radecki said. “It makes for an extremely efficient space, without a lot of hallways to get from point A to point B.” Both the banquet hall and VIP suites have audio connectivity with the main venue and multiple sources. Bishop specified Tannoy ceiling speakers for the banquet hall, suites, and a workout room for the athletes, along with two Tannoy Di6 outdoor speakers for the courtyard area. “There are lots of excellent choices in ceiling speakers; the Tannoys are available at a good price point and they sound great,” Bishop said. Audio is routed to the three separate zones through a Peavey Architectural Acoustics Digitool MX matrix DSP processor. Cox explained, “Without room in the budget for a control system, we had to do some creative programming using the D1V control panels and the Digitool MX.” The result was an easy-to-use system that can route audio from any one of seven sources, including a Denon radio tuner, Denon CD players, microphones or the main venue’s audio feed.

Video That Gets People Talking -

In designing the facility, Radecki said the entire team looked at other facilities, including private venues and

sports arenas in Division 1 schools. The design team evaluated what features are available in typical Division 1 schools, and how Drury University could make that technology scalable for its D2 facility. To this end, the school knew it needed a video board, but it had to be appropriately sized for the venue. Often, the video screens in arenas are hung in the center, but the design team believed an LED that measures about 9'x15' hanging from the scoreboard would be overpowering in the 3100-seat venue. Instead, Daktronics mounted its PS-X series LED on the south wall, adding a lower-resolution 3'x15' screen directly below the larger LED to run scrolling banners of sports graphics, game scores and words to motivate the crowd. Daktronics supplied and installed a large portion of the video systems, including the center-hung, four-sided scoreboard, scoreboards and timing systems at the scorer’s table, along with the two LED screens. Bishop coordinated the integration of the house sound and the video, and also provided peripherals such as monitors for the video edit room and media suite. In addition to the two LEDs and multiple scoreboards, video systems include a NewTek Tricaster Broadcast live video production workstation, a half-court camera for a birds-eye view of games and a Sony HD camcorder typically positioned behind the home goal. “The operator changes positions at half-time,” Bishop said. Both cameras can also be used for image magnification during live speaking or musical events.

Event Highlights -

Marrying so many needs within a limited budget wasn’t easy, but it was, in the opinions of those involved in the project, worthwhile. So far, the venue has hosted musical performances by groups such as Lifehouse and the Pointer Sisters, a comedy show with Bill Engvall and numerous Panthers basketball games. Radecki spotlighted two events that stand out in his mind since the venue’s grand opening. “There’s something about the first game and first concert,” he said. “Not because they were the flashiest, but you have the students and the long-time season ticket holders coming in, exploring and experiencing the new space.” Across the board, Radecki knew the school made the right choices in both equipment and designs when the arena received a compliment from two high profile sports announcers for CBS’ college sports station. “They said they’d never seen a D2 facility as high quality as this one, and that it was better than most D1 schools, as well,” Radecki related. “We did our homework, and their comments served as validation that we did a few things right.”