The new 18,000-plus-capacity Climate Pledge Arena in downtown Seattle that’s designed to host athletic events, concerts and more is outfitted with unique audio reinforcement driven by the Powersoft Mezzo power amplifier platform in a design by Dallas-based Idibri.
The venue is located on the site of the KeyArena, which had a roof deemed a historical landmark and couldn’t be torn down. As a result, it had to be lifted off for work to begin, with the rest of the building then completely dismantled, the floor lowered 20 feet, and the new arena built up to meet the original roof.
Senior consultant David Battershell headed up the project for Idibri, a Salas O’Brien Companyhas set its sights on becoming the most progressive, responsible and sustainable arena in the world, with a net-zero carbon status, no single-use plastic, water conservation, and zero waste as some of its initial ambitions.
David Battershell – senior consultant at Idibri, a Salas O’Brien Company – was the AV design consultant for the arena’s new construction, with Idibri acting as the AV component of a larger Populous design machine. Specifically, Idibri was brought in to provide quality audio in the arena’s suites to support bowl audio extension, background music and local TV audio, with Battershell and his team deciding that Powersoft’s Mezzo compact amplifier platform would be the right fit for the application.
“We thought that the Mezzo would be well-suited to being installed behind the televisions in each of the suites,” he said. “We used them to provide an audio input for local TV audio, amplification for local speakers, and IP audio connection to the bowl audio feeds. Mezzo has the exact feature set that we wanted, as well as being very well-priced for such high quality.”
The bowl audio feeds for the venue were designed to come from the front of house console via Dante and stream to the Mezzo infrastructure, comprising 58 units. Local audio from TVs were connected directly via the analog inputs on the Mezzo units, while Bluetooth audio inputs (AtteroTech unD6IO-BT) were able to steam to Mezzo via Dante.
“Mezzo was something we have wanted for several years,” says Battershell. “Powersoft heard our design requirements and delivered exactly what we needed.”
Dave Curry, vice president of technology for Climate Pledge Arena, adds, “The Powersoft amplifiers give us total control over the individual level, EQ, and audio routing to each suite in the arena. The Mezzo amplifier platforms have performed very well so far and the feedback from guests has been very positive. The quality of the sound system and acoustics in the arena are consistently complimented on guest surveys, and the Mezzo amplifiers are integral to smooth running of this system.”
