Having hosted concerts, theatre, circuses and civic events, rodeos, basketball and home games for the champions of the Professional Indoor Football League for the past 35 years, the 7,500-seat multipurpose Bicentennial Center Arena in Salina, Kansas, was due an audio refurbishment.

While the venue has undergone a series of other changes over the years, the original sound system had remained – until Parkway Communications recently installed an L-Acoustics Arcs Wide and Arcs Focus loudspeaker system (WiFo) at the city-owned venue, which is managed by Philadelphia-based Global Spectrum.

‘This system is second to none and provides the facility’s patrons with an unforgettable audio experience,’ says Salina City Manager, Jason Gage. ‘Global Spectrum, L-Acoustics and Parkway Communications did a super job of quickly getting a high-quality sound system for the Bicentennial Center ordered, installed and ready for prime time.’

‘New sound and lights are going a long way for our fans, clients and internal operations,’ adds Global Spectrum’s Chris Bird. ‘Our fans are now able to see and hear events better than ever before, and our clients are able to present a higher quality product. It’s a win-win for all involved with the Salina Bicentennial Center.’

Prior to the upgrade, the Bicentennial Center relied on an exploded cluster system positioned at one end of the arena. When the city agreed to a full audio refit – within a strict municipal budget – the L-Acoustics Applications team designed a system desgned to offer performance without breaking the budget.

‘L-Acoustics was one of a number of loudspeaker manufacturers who submitted system concepts for consideration,’ says L-Acoustics National Manager of Installation Projects, Dan Palmer. ‘Having successfully placed Arcs WiFo systems most recently at San Antonio’s Freeman Coliseum, Miami’s BankUnited Center and Phoenix’s Grand Canyon University, we have a growing body of experience in municipal and professional sports arenas and know how to effectively address them with L-Acoustics solutions.’

Following the design and the tender, the installation contract was awarded to Holland, Michigan’s Parkway Communications, which, to quote Palmer, ‘provided flawless integration.’

‘Since we have had a good deal of experience with all of L-Acoustics’ product lines – especially the Arcs WiFo systems – we knew exactly what it would take from an integration standpoint to help this system really perform to its full potential,’ says Parkway’s Josh Maichele, who was Systems Engineer on the project. ‘We wanted to make sure from the very start that we were getting every ounce of signal we could to the speakers and no detail was left out, from the eight-gauge wire feeding the clusters to input and output from the booth or floor being transported via AES audio.’

The new rig incorporates 28 Arcs Wide systems flown in four arrays of four cabinets for the north/south ends of the arena, plus two cabinets for the west end and four corner positions. The east-facing array pairs an Arcs Focus with two Arcs Wide, while six SB18i subs and four LA8 and one LA4 amplified controllers round out the system.

Additionally, a portable ‘floor’ system consists of four Arcs Wide tops mounted on poles above four SB18 subs. The flexibility provided by this portable system was key to the job’s success as it can also be deployed as separate point sources on tripods, or as a flown left/right system above a portable stage as dictated by the event. A pair of LA8s powers the portable system.

‘Flexibility and functionality were key, and the Arcs WiFo system can accomplish all of this with standard rigging,’ Palmer says. ‘The system provides articulate, full-range, high-impact sound to all audience areas.’