Oklahoma’s Pioneer Cellular Event Center Opens With QSC Equipped Arena

Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Pioneer Cellular Event Center, a 93,000-square-foot multipurpose sports and event facility that includes a 4,000-seat arena equipped with a QSC Audio WideLine Series line arrays providing 360-degree coverage, driven by PowerLight 3 Series amplifiers and a Q-Sys Core 250i integrated system platform that handles signal processing and distribution.

AVL Systems Design, a design-build firm located in Edmond, OK, supplied and installed the QSC equipment as part of an integrated audio, video and control system at the venue. “We installed 48 of the WideLine WL2082-i arrays,” says Marc Pierce, president of AVL Systems Design.

The line arrays are installed in six hangs of eight cabinets each. Two arrays are flown along each long side of the arena plus one at either end. Four GP218-sw dual-18-inch subwoofers are positioned above the scoreboard at center court. A total of four PL340 and eight PL380 two-channel amplifiers power the QSC loudspeakers.

“The QSC system is very efficient—that was one of the main cost-saving benefits of a QSC solution,” says Pierce. He reports that he recommended QSC equipment to the client in preference to products from another manufacturer. “While there were some cost savings in choosing QSC, it wasn’t something we went after because of the cost savings—it was for overall better performance. QSC has a better product.”

In addition, four QSC AcousticPerformance AP-5152 15-inch two-way speakers are installed in the arena’s control booth. “They can patch in any feed for monitoring,” explains Pierce. “The booth is open to the main room, so they don’t need a reference monitor for the arena PA system.”

The Q-Sys Core 250i and I/O Frames, located in a machine room next to the control booth along with four PL340 and eight PL380 two-channel amplifiers and other equipment, handle audio distribution and processing throughout the building.

“All of the audio goes in and out of the Q-Sys Core for the main PA, the distributed audio around the perimeter of the arena, some outdoor speakers around the perimeter of the building and a couple of conference rooms,” says Pierce.

The scalability of Q-Sys further enables the university to expand the platform into other areas of the campus. “They’re going to be adding some facilities in the future. That’s another reason why we chose the Q-Sys Core, as it allows us to easily expand,” he notes.

The facility, which also includes new locker rooms, coaches’ offices, a film room, training room and various multifunctional rooms, plus a VIP suite, provides a home for the university’s men’s and women’s basketball teams and women’s volleyball squad and provides additional amenities during games at the adjacent football complex.

Although the official opening was late March of this year, the center has been in operation since January, providing plenty of opportunities for event attendees to experience the new sound system. The first major act to visit the center was comedian Bill Cosby, as part of Comedy Central’s Far From Finished Tour, on April 3. “People here have been extremely ecstatic about the new system,” says Pierce. “The clients say that the speech intelligibility and the coverage are even more than they had hoped for. Everybody is very pleased.”

QSC Audio
AVL Systems Design

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