we were able to do that . We were able to do all of that remotely without having to have someone onsite . For example , I think Mike [ Christiansen ] had something that needed to be tweaked ; we were able to remote into the system from our office in Pensacola , and go in and change a setting .”
With 21 years since the last upgrade , it ’ s certainly a stark demonstration of how far every facet of technology has progressed , which is obviously a massive plus for projects such as this , especially when it comes to power and amplification . “ It ’ s amazing , the footprint that was required [ for installs ] 30 years ago versus the footprint that ’ s required now ,” comments Walden . “ Amplifiers now , by and large , output a lot more power per amplifier than what many amplifiers did at that time , as well as having more channels . So , it ’ s outputting more power and more channels out of the same amount of space that a single amplifier would ’ ve taken up 20 , 30 years ago . So , what at the time may have taken four racks of equipment , we can do in two .” While this is certainly beneficial when considering the threshold for what all can be integrated into a system , these advancements in efficiency and power management helped the installation process itself too .
“ Because speakers now are way more efficient in terms of highs and lows , we were able to use a lot of the existing infrastructure ,” says Steve Van Gemert , an electrician and foreman at Spark Power . He comments specifically on the main PA , “ The infrastructure that was there to support those very large speakers that were put in years ago , we were able to reuse those and separate them . Virtually , you would ’ ve had to have two highs and two lows together [ per speaker ]. Now , each speaker has an independent high and low , so the infrastructure was able to be reused , and we just removed , re-piped , and re-terminated onto the new speakers .” There was still some framework to be added though , as Van Gemert clarifies that the aforementioned pendant speakers in the concourse were an addition rather than a replacement .
“ We did have to add quite a bit of infrastructure for all of the back of house stuff that ’ s basically running all the way around the 100 level . If you ’ re walking through the concourse , now you ’ re gonna see all those nice , black pendants , but again , those were all brand new . So , that was over 6,000 feet of conduit that had to be run , with well over that in cable , because we were pairing them , and then [ running ] right down risers to new amps ,” the foreman explains . While this proved to be one of the more daunting parts of the job , the Spark Power team was well-prepared , as they have been an electrical partner with the Rogers Centre for a good while .
“ We ’ ve had our people in there for well over a decade now , whether it be working for their electrical department , or working with the MLB in all different departments . We hadn ’ t done much work with multimedia , but finally this came along … And with our knowledge and understanding of the building , it was kind of a no-brainer ,” Van Gemert says . The other daunting part of the job , despite being helped by the existing wiring , was the physical installation of the main PA . “ We were bringing in the big , big cranes and booms to reach over the 100 level stands , 200 feet up . All for speakers that are 60 pounds , we had a 120-ton crane in there . It was lucky , we ’ ve got a couple of really good guys who were really , really brave , and they did a fantastic job .”
With All Pro ’ s reputation in the sports integration sector , Walden notes in a similar vein that the building itself did present some unique challenges for the installation . “ A lot of stadiums have more access to some of the upper deck locations than what [ Rogers Centre ] did … So , in order to get new speakers in location , we were able to build a grid and raise that grid , pre-built , that already had speakers attached to it , and rig it into location . So , there were places where there was a hole and access in the catwalk to be able to get down to single speakers , but it was difficult to be able to raise or lower those speakers . Right now with the way it ’ s done , you would raise or lower that grid to get to all of those speakers down low .”
Altogether , the installation itself was a massive undertaking , but a positive experience for the All Pro and Spark Power teams , according to both Van Gemert and Walden . “ For us as an electrical company , as well
AN EAW JF80Z IN THE CONCOURSE
QSC AD-S8TS ARE FLUSH-MOUNTED ABOVE THE SUITES
A BAY OF QSC CX-Q AMPLIFIERS IN SOUND ROOM 3
as various other divisions , we were able to tackle it head-on . And then , we were very lucky to be opened up with Rogers and All Pro teaching us more about audiovisual systems ,” Van Gemert explains . On the All Pro side , it was a unique partnership , but ultimately an advantageous one , as Spark Power ’ s team was the one primarily performing the labour with All Pro ’ s guidance and supervision . “ We usually have our staff doing 80 to 100 percent of the install ,” Walden says . “ So , it brought in a little bit of a different dynamic , but it was a dynamic that was very successful with Spark Power .” Covert adds , “ In the end this proved to be a very strong group , achieving an excellent final implementation .”
That all being said , however , the system merely being in place only meant it was time for the next phase of the project . Enter Arthur Skudra , principal consultant at Sightsound Consulting , and a prolific system tuner .
PHOTO : ANDREW LEYENHORST PHOTO : ANDREW LEYENHORST PHOTO : BOBBY SINGH /@ FOHPHOTO
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