Place Bell is a 10,000-seat amphitheater located in Laval, Quebec. Officially opened on September 1, the venue is a multi-function complex used for sporting and musical events such as Cirque Du Soleil, Marvel Universe Life, The Scorpions, and The Killers. The arena will also be available for presentations and community activities as well as being the home of the Rocket De Laval hockey team.
Place Bell also features one of the first NEXO line array rigs in North America to be installed in a large arena.
Installed by Montreal-based company TKNL, the new system contains 14 clusters, and each cluster is configured with three GEO S1210 line array boxes, two S1230s, 2 LS18s, four PS15 R2s that cover the ice rink/floor portion, and two STM M28s that serve as monitors for the national anthem, etc.
“It took approximately six months for the completion of the main PA, secondary PA, and all of the IP TV network,” states Stephane Laurin, business development manager at TKNL. “We determined that the NEXO system was the best solution for this venue. One of the key criteria in this project was intelligibility that is part of NEXO’s technical prowess. Like all arenas, we had to deal with concrete that causes reverb. So, we needed to install a large number of NEXO speakers in order to cover every section. This type of environment requires highly directive speakers solely focused on the listening experience for everyone attending events in the arena.”
Laurin says the NEXO system sounds great. “The uniformity of the sound is amazing regardless of where you are seated in the amphitheater. We are more than happy with both the products and the services received from NEXO and Yamaha on this project. To me, the sure sign of success is when everyone is happy with the final product. The entire team helped to make this install happen in order to provide seamless sound for the audience.”
