The MTS Centre, home of the Winnepeg (Manitoba) Jets of the National Hockey League, has been outfitted with a new Yamaha Commericial Audio CL5 digital console joined by two Rio1608-D input/output boxes, courtesy of Sonic Art Winnipeg.
The arena seats more than 15,000, and also plays host to a multitude of indoor sporting and entertainment events.
The CL5 is used primarily for Jets game production and was chosen for multiple reasons. “The Centre had reached the capacity of its existing analog console,” states Iain Graham, technical projects manager for Sound Art. “There were serious issues with sub-mixes for the concourse, etc., being altered between hockey games and not being reset. The ability to have a digital signal path from the control room located in the loading dock area to the press box production booth was essential.”
Graham adds that in addition to the creation of a digital signal path, it was essential that the facility be able to use all of the analog ‘trunking” from the original install.
“Dynamics on every channel was a welcome bonus and custom fader layers allow the engineers for various scenarios to only see the faders they need to see,” he adds. “Of course, the ability to use a redundant power supply tipped the purchasing decision to the Yamaha CL as compared to the competition being looked at during the selection process. The touch screen was also very attractive.”
The venue has also recently started to use the multi-track feature of the CL with Nuendo. “Nuendo enables the technical staff to archive shows and also allows offline troubleshooting if an action during a game needs to be reviewed,” Graham says. “There are significant fines from the NHL if anything interrupts a game, so staying on top of any potential issue is important.”
The addition of the Yamaha CL5 and Rio boxes is phase two of an audio upgrade at MTS Center, with Sound Art previously upgrading both the bowl and concourse PA systems.