The new 55,000-capacity Qingchun Football Stadium in the Chengyang district of the Chinese city of Qingdao, designed to host football matches as well as the Asian Cup and World Cup tournaments in the future, is equipped with a distributed sound reinforcement system utilizing CODA Audio HOPS and ViRAY loudspeakers.
The roofed, two-tier construction provides for every requirement of players, officials, media representatives, VIPs and fans to international standards, while a multifunctional training hall, swimming pool, two further grass pitches and commercial spaces complement the development of the site. Production specialist and integrator Tongbo was engaged to supply and install the audio system and chose CODA Audio for the project.
The primary objective of the system is to deliver clarity in order to ensure that everyone present inside the stadium can hear announcements at all times, often against the background of loud crowd noise. Headroom in such circumstances is an important element of the PA system, as is the ability to control its area of coverage to avoid the sound reflections created by walls and glass surfaces.
CODA HOPS12i three-way point-source loudspeakers cover the main seating areas — 20 groups of 3 x HOPS12i (140-degree vertical by 90-degree horizontal dispersion) are mounted under the catwalk to give even coverage of the entire area, while four groups of 8 x ViRAY line array loudspeakers (two groups on each of the east and west sides) cover the pitch. A further six CODA G512-PRO two-way point source loudspeakers can be deployed for the rostrum area or anywhere else in the stadium where mobile returns are required.
Lang Jun, senior engineer at the stadium, states, “In the first event of this year, the sound clarity and coverage were excellent, providing a natural balance. The audio maintained high clarity whether at low sound pressure or high sound pressure, receiving praise from the owner and various parties.”
CODA Audio director of Global Sales and Marketing David Webster adds, “We’re very proud to see CODA Audio providing the solution for such a high profile stadium in China. This is a major project in a venue that will stage leading international matches and serves to demonstrate how the audio quality, flexibility and adaptability of CODA systems can meet and exceed the very highest standards demanded. The Qingchun Football Stadium is also another fine example of Tongbo’s excellent work – their team has now been involved in the delivery of a wide variety of large scale prestigious installations and live performances using CODA, all of which have securely cemented our high reputation amongst their clients.”
