ESCO Communications Deploys WJHW-Designed Harman Professional HiQnet™ Sound System At Indianapolis Colts’ New Lucas Oil Stadium

In what is the world’s largest and most ambitious Harman Professional HiQnet™ sound system, leading systems integration firm ESCO Communications has just completed the integration and commissioning of HiQnet audio system featuring amplifiers from Crown Audio, loudspeakers from JBL Professional and system configuration and control via HiQnet System Architect™ at the new Lucas Oil Stadium NFL football stadium, home of the SuperBowl-winning Indianapolis Colts franchise. The system was designed by consultants, WJHW and is seen as one of the most progressive and impressive stadiums in an era rich with new and exciting stadium projects.

Featuring a unique retractable roof that makes it ideal for indoor and outdoor events, Lucas Oil Stadium seats 63,000 for football but can accommodate thousands more for basketball, conventions, concerts and other applications. The stadium covers 1.8 million square feet, features 137 corporate suites, two club lounges, meeting rooms, and two exhibit halls. The sound system is designed to be versatile and high performing. It comprises eight JBL Professional VLA line-array clusters powered by Crown CTs series amps for football application. In other applications where additional sound reinforcement is required, six clusters of 12 JBL Professional VERTEC™ VT4888DP-AN midsize powered line array loudspeakers drop down from the stadium roof. Crown PIP-USP3CN modules installed in the CTs Series amplifiers provide EQ, level control, delay and signal.
As the JBL Professional VERTEC and VLA Line Arrays and the Crown CTs Series amplifiers are HiQnet-enabled, system designers employed HiQnet System Architect to custom design master control panels to manage the configuration, operation and monitoring of up to 438 devices in a single venue file. System Architect provides a highly customizable, ultra-intuitive interface and allows recall of pre-programmed configurations for different applications from concerts to basketball games to conventions.

Commenting on the application, Gary Dunn, Executive Vice President of Business Development, ESCO Communications noted, “Our Project Manager, Keith Schuetter, and his team were very happy with the performance of the HiQnet system. The HiQnet System Architect software is very versatile and easy to use. It is powerful and the presentation is appealing. Harman was supportive throughout the project. Bradford Benn of Crown International was highly involved in the design and implementation of the custom software. We feel Harman as a whole was instrumental in the project’s success.”

Rick Kreifeldt, Vice President of Harman System Development & Integration Group (SDIG) is equally impressed with the Lucas Oil Stadium. “The versatility of this stadium to accommodate football on a Sunday or Monday and then transform itself into a basketball arena or convention center over the course of the following week is a testament to the foresight and design capabilities of all involved — and from our perspective the teams from WJHW and ESCO Communications,” Kreifedt said today. “We’re pleased that HiQnet was able to contribute to the performance and versatility of this stadium as we believe that custom configurability and reliable performance are two of the key attributes that make HiQnet successful in the marketplace.”