The Adelaide Oval, home to the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) and South Australian National Football League (SANFL) as well as one of the premier entertainment venues in the country, recently underwent a major expansion and upgrade that included the installation of a new sound reinforcement system featuring EAW QX Series loudspeakers.　　The $575 million reconstruction, which took place from 2008-2014, completely stripped the field and added new south and east stands, increasing seating capacity from 34,000 to 53,583. Minor modifications were also made to the existing west stands.
　　Located in Sydney, system integration and production company The P.A. People were tasked with installing the new sound reinforcement system designed by Texas-based Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon and Williams (WJHW).
　　“It was a good sized project,” explains Brett Steele, manager installed systems for The P.A. People. “All in all we installed 27 separate clusters of EAW QX 500 Series loudspeakers to cover the majority of the stand seating areas. The objective was to provide comprehensive coverage while keeping the PA as unobtrusive as possible.”　　The western grandstand is covered by 11 clusters, each made up of three QX564i loudspeakers. Ten clusters, consisting of two QX564i and one QX544i loudspeakers, covered the eastern grandstand seating area. The southern stands had a much higher roof to work with, which required only four clusters to cover the seating area. Two clusters were single QX566i cabinets, while the other two were made up of one QX566i and one QX544i loudspeakers.
　　“The QX Series is a nice compact box that has extremely high output and visually looks terrific,” adds Steele. “Each model utilizes the same enclosure but has a choice of coverage patterns. The aesthetic is quite attractive while the coverage is tailored to what is required.”　　EAW’s QX Series loudspeakers provide a high output level that make them appropriate for long throws in stadiums like the Adelaide Oval. Each enclosure is loaded with an ultra-efficient mid/high compression driver with a constant directivity horn. Four Phase Aligned 12-inch low frequency transducers surround the coaxial compression driver symmetrically in both the horizontal and vertical planes creating the perfect point source solution for stadium applications.
　　The P.A. People created custom metal brackets that were used to fly the clusters from the lip of the overhangs with the assistance of a 150 foot boom.
　　Managing Director of The P.A. People, Chris Dodds, concludes, “This is an excellent project for South Australia’s premier sporting venue, the iconic Adelaide Oval - and we are proud to have been involved”.