It’s called “The World’s Most Famous Arena” because, quite simply, it is. For more than 100 years, Madison Square Garden (MSG) has been center stage for many of the most memorable sporting and entertainment performances witnessed and enjoyed by several generations.

A procession of four facilities have been erected at the same spot in Manhattan over a century, all carrying the Madison Square Garden moniker, with the latest incarnation opening in 1968. In addition to serving as the home of the NBA Knicks and NHL Rangers, the circular, 19,700-plus seat arena is rarely “dark,” hosting a steady procession of events including circuses, prize fights, concerts, rodeos and even the New York City Police Department (NYPD) Academy graduation as well as the venerable Westminster Kennel Dog Show.

About two years ago, Signal Perfection Limited’s (SPL) Felix Robinson, who, for several years, has consulted with MSG staff regarding audio, recommended a new system to replace one that had served admirably for well over a decade. Garden management concurred, procuring the budget for a project slated to be complete in September 2001, just in time for the first face-off of hockey season.

The previous system had been designed by Cliff Henricksen, who served as audio supervisor at the Garden before departing to provide product design for two leading manufacturers. Robinson assisted Hendrickson, learning both a great deal about the system and audio principles in general prior to taking the handoff.

That system, installed well over a decade ago by Henricksen’s U.S. Sound (later acquired by Bose), offered three-way loudspeaker clusters divided among four primary positions at ceiling level, each handling roughly one-fourth of the coverage area. As with the new project, these clusters were subject to severe aesthetic restrictions in deference to MSG’s distinctive ceiling (more on this later). The subsequent addition of numerous advertising signs in the arena created several shadowed seating regions, necessitating the addition of distributed loudspeakers.

“The prior system was very well designed for its time, and with some extra care from Cliff and later, me, it had what can be considered an extended life span,” Robinson explains.

WJHW’s Ron Baker

“Finally, it became apparent that an upgrade was in order, to take advantage of many technological advancements that would result in more flexibility, easier use and better overall sound quality and coverage.” Garden management designated Wrightson Johnson Haddon & Williams (WJHW) of Dallas as the system design consulting firm on the project, with Jack Wrightson and WJHW Senior Designer Ron Baker heading this process.

SPL, based in Columbia, MD, emerged from the bidding process as the contractor. SPL’s Larry Politi put in seven-day weeks as project manager over the course of the installation, and SPL Project Engineer Ed Sullivan matched this commitment in supplying the lion’s share of custom digital signal processor programming. They worked closely with Robinson, who also serves as SPL’s operations manager for the Northeastern U.S., based in New York.

Complicating Factors

A very tight timeframe proved the biggest “non-audio” factor influencing the project. It was a situation complicated by two vastly different issues. WJHW was presented with a tight window. The preliminary design was not fully approved until June, with final working drawings, the bidding process and installation yet to be done as a late September deadline loomed.

And on September 11, as SPL shepherded the diverse crew through installation of new electrical service, cabling, racks, electronics, loudspeakers and their custom steel support structures, work came to a jarring halt. Upon hearing word of the attack, workers immediately left the project site to offer their help and support at “ground zero” – tight deadline or not, system completion would be subject to a more important priority.

“The events of September 11 created a shift, in that the arena wouldn’t be doing business for several days, but at some point there’s the reality that the ‘show must go on’ and therefore, the system had to be finished as expediently as possible,” Robinson explains. “Our experience with numerous arena projects over the years was a real benefit. We convened an emergency meeting a few days later to figure out how to accelerate the schedule to make the deadline, really, to uphold our commitment to the client despite the uncertainty.

“What we looked at was coordinating all manpower around the variables, and came up with a schedule that actually allowed us to leap ahead. Just getting people in and out of the city was an incredible challenge, and it went from there,” he continues. “There were bomb threats all over the city, several of them at Penn Station, which sits directly under the Garden. All deliveries were subject to exhaustive inspections. Regardless, work resumed, because every single individual pushed even harder toward honoring the commitment. The result was the first official use of the new system for a championship boxing match on September 22.”