MGM Resorts International’s new Park Theater on the Las Vegas Strip has become the city’s largest and most technologically advanced venue to utilise immersiveness in its theatrical design with the addition of an L-Acoustics K2 loudspeaker system.
The system was specified by Montréal-based Scéno Plus and integrated by Solotech’s Las Vegas division.
Hosting an audience of 5,200 in its standard configuration, the $90m theatre, which is located adjacent to the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, can flexibly be expanded to accommodate up to 6,300 people at peak capacity.
Scéno Plus specified a true LCR system consisting of two hangs comprising 16 K2 enclosures and six K1-SB subwoofers per side, with dialogue/lead vocals routed through a centre cluster made up of 14 Kara boxes and four ARCS II outfill enclosures. Created in Soundvision, the system design was deemed the ideal solution to offer an immersive, full-range (35Hz-20kHz) audio experience evenly and consistently across every seat in the house thanks to the K2’s PANFLEX horizontal steering.
A dozen SB28 subs are ground-stacked below to anchor the system’s generous low-end, while eight X8 and two X12 coaxial enclosures are distributed across the 135-foot-wide stage to further extend the coverage and frequency response of the mains. Ten additional X8s serve as under-balcony fills, with the entire PA system powered and processed by 21 LA8 amplified controllers.
“We had a very big space to cover and it had to be done from behind the screens,” explained Scéno Plus AV designer Simon Léonard. “Accuracy of mappings and mechanical data were instrumental, and we required a highly efficient, predictable and accurate system. The K2 solution caters for all of that while maintaining a clear stereo image no matter where you’re sitting in the room. It’s really quite amazing and, in my opinion, very unique.”
The 150,000sqft performance space at the Park Theater has a rather intimate feel with its rear row of seating less than 150ft from the stage. Officially opening its doors in mid-December 2016 with a double-bill of Stevie Nicks and The Pretenders, the theatre has already booked a series of “extended engagements” with artists like Bruno Mars, Cher and Ricky Martin, helping to establish the new venue as one of the Strip’s top live concert environments.
