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A aerial view of refurbished Yokohama Stadium in Japan, with RCF loudspeakers serving a key role in the venue's new dual-purpose system.

RCF Hits A Home Run At 2021 Summer Olympics Baseball Venue

New dual-purpose system at historic venue fulfilling public address and general alarm applications headed by TTL and P Series loudspeakers.

Historic Yokohama Stadium, which will host baseball games at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Japan, has been equipped with a new sound reinforcement system handling both public address and general alarm applications that’s headed by a variety of loudspeakers from RCF.

Yokohama Stadium started in 1876 as the common ground for cricket competitions, and in 1929 was reconstructed as a baseball stadium with 15,000 seats to host the country’s most popular participatory and spectator sport. Then in 1978, it was rebuilt as the first multi-purpose stadium in Japan.

After a complete renovation that began in 2018, Yokohama Stadium was selected as the venue for 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, postponed to the following year due to the pandemic. Developers at Yokohama Stadium have added additional seating with the number of seats increased to just over 34,000, and it’s now known as the official venue of the baseball competitions for the 2021 Olympics.

The new dual-purpose main sound reinforcement system utilizes two arrays of four TTL 33-WP loudspeakers each, placed on light poles around the Stadium (total 48 speakers). Fly bars are fixed to custom built titanium brackets. The stadium also has expanded seating on each side, with four P4228 loudspeakers placed on the top edge of the left wing and five more on the right wing. Additionally, nine P3108 and a P4228 are placed underbalcony to cover the seats behind home plate, with a single P2110-T and P8015-S installed to cover the dugout.

“In the renovation of Yokohama Stadium, our mission was to achieve both excellent quality for entertainment as a ballpark and clarity as a broadcasting facility,” says Taketoshi Kobayashi (lead engineer of Onkyo Tokki). “TTL 33-WP and other RCF loudspeakers were essential to maintain clarity of the sound without losing the volume of the lower part of the spectrum, contrary to the situation where the volume in the low frequency is lost due to prioritizing clarity, which is often seen in outdoor facilities. I was impressed by RCF’s intelligibility.

“The system is perfect for the size and shape of the facility with its skillful design, easy tuning of the speaker, orientation, and level balance. In particular, sound from the opposite side of the field is well controlled,” he continues. “Currently, there are lots of sports facilities with line arrays installed. Still, the sound is very well controlled here, and this also contributes to the improvement of clarity and sound quality. The support of the RCF team during the process was excellent. Quick response to changes in rigging points and model selection was an essential factor in the success of this project.”

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