(L-R) AV CONSULTANT ANDY FOORD, RENKUS-HEINZ’S BRANDON HEINZ & MLSE’S COURTNEY ROSS IN THE SCOTIABANK ARENA CONTROL ROOM.
that runs the whole back-of-house and the
ICLives are managed from a PC in the main
control room over the corporate LAN.”
All control is achieved via the main-
frame computer handling the back-of-
house systems. “That specific BSS network
now includes the square, which has its
own GUI page. All DSP was done within the
ICLives, but the routing is done through BSS
and in the form of presets,” Ross explains
before offering an example: “For a preset
like ‘Doors Open,’ I hit one button and it
changes all back-of-house zones immedi-
ately – everything from the bathrooms and
hallways to the concourse, and, now, the
square as well. So that turns on at game
time and plays the broadcast.”
For special events like “tailgate” parties
staged outside leading up to and during
Leafs and Raptors games that may involve
MCs and live performances, any of the are-
na’s consoles (which are all Dante compati-
ble) can be deployed in the square.
“Setting up front-of-house out there
can now be done via the Dante bridge and
one Ethernet connection,” Ross explains.
Presets will still be used for various situa-
tions, such as switching control from the
main control room to back-of-house and
the portable console and, at the end of a
game or event, turning everything off in
the square and routing control back to the
control room.
Again, the degree of control pro-
vided by the ICLive technology allows
for multiple zones in the square to get
exactly what’s required to engage fans:
from the screen to the buildings facing
the south side of the LED wall, through
the bulk of the square proper, and finally,
roughly 450 ft. further, all the way to York St.
Although it’s an outdoor venue,
given that the square is surrounded by
buildings with highly reflective glass,
metal, and concrete surfaces, it’s still
a very “live” space, acoustically speak-
ing. That said, system tuning was done
very quickly – in one estimate, roughly
45 minutes – by Renkus-Heinz Project
Manager, Brandon Heinz. Heinz is also a
professional DJ who regularly uses the
company’s technology in performance
and played a supporting role in assisting
MLSE and Bill Coons of Contact Distri-
bution, the brand’s Canadian distributor,
throughout the design, integration, and
commissioning process.
During commissioning, there was no
physical adjustment of the ICLive arrays,
Heinz explains, describing the process
briefly as a matter of sending pink noise
out through the system, making minor
adjustments to the beam steering to
provide coverage to three specific loca-
tions or zones (the first from the screen
to roughly 100 ft. out, from there to 250
ft. further, and finally, across the entire
street and square to York St). Following
that, and, as Heinz puts it, “a bit of EQing
to taste,” the necessary presets were
stored for recall and the job was done.
The project was underway immediately fol-
lowing the Raptors’ massive championship
parade on June 17, 2019, which brought
upwards of 1.5 million fans into the streets
of Toronto for a one-of-a-kind celebration,
and the end result was unveiled in time for
the Raptors’ 2019/20 season home opener
on Oct. 22, 2019 against the visiting New
Orleans Pelicans.
“It’s a great thing to happen within the
first year of our partnership with Scotiabank,
and was a great way to start off our new
seasons with an improved sound system
and video wall,” Ross says in closing. “It’s just
great timing and great results all around.”
Kevin Young is a Toronto-based musician
and freelance writer.
PROFESSIONAL SOUND 29