The fan experience is central to the impressive new home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, with head of technology at the venue Sanjeev Katwa claiming that “tech has enabled us to meet the experience fans want”.
New technology is visible as soon as you get near to the site, with external wayfinding and digital signage surrounding the huge 62,062-capacity venue. Even the turnstiles have been rethought to provide quicker, more comfortable access to the stadium. Katwa calls it “a huge leap in technology, from the access system through low level turnstiles to the cashless system within the stadium which offers a better experience for the customer and the high density WiFi that offers the fastest speed of any stadium in Europe.”
Once inside an IPTV network allows different content to be shown on different screens – of which there are about 1700 throughout the site, including the Daktronics wayfinding units, the six large screens in the bowl and the 29in to 98in LG screens.
In the bowl itself a great deal of time went into creating the right atmosphere for both football matches and the NFL and rugby games that will be played at the site; the need to cater for concerts and live events also influenced the choice of audio system.
The stadium standardised on Harman throughout with products taken from across the company’s portfolio to perform in different areas. This includes JBL Control 60 pendant speakers in the media centre, which is open to the public as a cafe during non-game times, and AC16s and CBT speakers in the auditorium. The latter is complemented by a Daktronics direct view screen, rather than the traditional projector setup.
In the bowl is there’s a brand new Harman system, the JBL VLA-Compact loudspeaker system, used here for the first time in Europe. The all-IP system means it is now possible to segment and zone sound in different areas so if, for example, one bar area is busy, audio elsewhere can be changed to attract more people to a different area.
In total, the Harman solution comprised around 4000 speakers, including 156 JBL VLA-C2100 loudspeakers, 54 JBL VLA-C125 subwoofers, 196 JBL AWC82 all-weather loudspeakers, 140 Crown DriveCore Install amplifiers, and more than 3,500 JBL Control Contractor speakers installed across the facility. Audio is mixed on a Soundcraft Vi2000 digital console and monitored via JBL LSR 305 reference monitors.
As Katwa concludes: “We’ve changed tech in stadiums – I think it’s the best venue in the world.”
