Clair Global Integration (CGI) designed and installed solutions for the $2bn, 18,000-capacity Intuit Dome, home of Los Angeles Clippers and acclaimed as “the world’s most high-tech basketball arena”. CGI installed a JBL Professional bowl sound system, Q-SYS networking systems in the club spaces, practice courts, and locker rooms, NEAT solutions for every conference room, as well as ENG broadcast cable plant and distribution, CISCO IPTV systems, and AVoIP solutions.
The venue also announced Clair Global touring client, Bruno Mars, as the opening act for the arena’s first live event at its Inglewood, CA, Los Angeles location, following its official opening in August.
Working with lead designer AECOM and Turner Construction, CGI deployed CISCO VisionEdge IPTV systems with BrightSign media players for every suite, club, office and broadcast/media space. Control of the displays utilises Q-SYS control engines, and locations with touch integrated displays use Wipro VisionEdge-Go.
The JBL speaker solution comprises VTX A12’s in the centre and VTX A8s on the outer delays with PD500 large-format loudspeakers for upper delay fills.
The Intuit Dome’s new production facilities include a giant ‘halo’ shaped video screen which hangs centrally above some of the arena’s seating. This potentially large obstruction to great audio coverage required an innovative sound design consisting of an inner ring of eight clusters to sufficiently cover the lower bowl and a significant number of smaller line arrays to cover the outer edge of the halo.
Demetrius Palavos, VP of sports integration, CGI, said: “We’re a creative engineering company, we solve beyond audio and video. In conjunction with Storm LED panels, we created our own back-end software that interfaces with Q-SYS. In every suite and club space we have an ADA panel that connects with a Q-SYS touch panel. The ADA panel mimics the touch panel buttons allowing anyone with a sight loss disability to control the sound and TVs for that area.”
He added: “We worked with AV consultant and technical designer Greg Swindle of WJHW on the overall cluster configuration and precise box angles; it was critical to ensure we were not putting any energy into the back of the LED video screen and causing reflections. Our job at CGI is to make things work seamlessly, to make the technology a success from the first time the doors open.”
For Bruno Mars’ concerts, which took place over two consecutive nights, the fixed hangs were augmented with L-Acoustics K Series touring rig. Clair Global supplied main hangs of K1 and K2, KS28’s as flown subs, K1 and K2 for side hangs, K2 rear hangs, more KS28 cabinets for ground subs, and A10s and A15s for front fill reinforcement. The system was powered by 64 x LA12X amplifiers.
