SOUNDS LIKE HOME
An all-new audio experience at Toronto ’ s Rogers Centre ushers in the Blue Jays ’ return
COURTESY : TORONTO BLUE JAYS BASEBALL CLUB
By Andrew Leyenhorst
THE BLUE JAYS PRE-GAME HOMECOMING CEREMONY ON JULY 30 TH , 2021
While Major League Baseball did play throughout the 2020 pandemic season , there was one particular ballpark that did not see its team take the field at home ; the lone Major League stadium in Canada , Toronto ’ s Rogers Centre . While the Blue Jays were situated in Tampa Bay and Buffalo , a perfect opportunity had presented itself to completely replace the two-decadeold sound system and improve the experience at the park for spectators and players alike . While the plan to replace the system had been in motion for some time prior , the mitigating circumstances brought on by the pandemic were not . But , the timing happened to work ; the only issue being that the system upon completion wouldn ’ t be used in earnest for over a year . However , with the club finally home , this state-of-the-art , distributed installation has finally roared to life .
“ The original sound system installed with the [ building ] was replaced in 2000 , but only the loudspeakers that covered the 100 level and 200 level ,” explains Mike Christiansen , director of technical production and broadcast for the Toronto Blue Jays and Rogers Centre . “ The loudspeakers that were in the private boxes , 300 and 400 levels , and the upper deck were original to 1989 . So , it was always on our radar to replace the sound system at some point .”
The new system is largely EAW-based in terms of loudspeakers , but also features QSC Q-SYS solutions in the form of both the amplification network for the system , and additional loudspeakers . The installation was designed by Anthony James Partners ( AJP ), an owner ’ s representative and AV consultant in Richmond , VA ; integrated by Pensacola , FL outfit All Pro and Oakville , ON ’ s Spark Power ( formerly New
Electric ); and supplied by Canada ’ s own SFM . The system was tuned by Arthur Skudra .
“ The decision to use QSC Q-SYS processing and amplifiers was based on the robust and reliable hardware set , ease of networking , and full system monitoring capabilities , both in their amplifiers and processors ,” remarks Jack Covert , CTS-D , system designer at AJP . “ As for the main seating loudspeakers that are responsible for the heavy lifting portion of the sound system , the EAW QX series checked all boxes for size , performance , and value . We had good experience using this product in similar designs prior to this project with excellent results .”
“ We heard about the project probably as early as mid-2018 ,” recounts Rob Deslauriers , SFM ’ s pro audio sales rep . “ We heard that AJP was working on the project , and that they had engaged EAW , who was working with them on
26 PROFESSIONAL SOUND