Home to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, is regarded as an icon among modern sports and entertainment venues. Opened in 2009, the stadium was designed to be a premier destination for sports fans, event attendees and corporate sponsors. The stadium’s 160ft-wide HD video board, innovative mobile app integrations and robust Wi-Fi network set a new standard in sports stadium technology.
In addition to NFL games, the facility hosts a wide variety of events, including high school and college football championships, premier concerts, international soccer, the Professional Bull Riders World Finals, motorsports, and other top-tier public and private events, ensuring year-round operation and revenue generation. The fan experience remains a cornerstone of its success, with surveys consistently ranking AT&T Stadium among the best venues in the NFL. Its global recognition is underscored by its selection as a host facility for the FIFA World Cup in 2026.
Originally a CobraNet installation, the stadium’s A/V team undertook a massive three-year project to convert the entire stadium over to Dante audio. ‘CobraNet was end-of-life, and we were already having issues sourcing replacement parts, so the migration was a need, not a want,’ says AT&T Stadium audio consultant and owner of Caprock Professional Services, Richard Bratcher. ‘As the de facto audio standard in professional A/V, it was a no-brainer for us to migrate the stadium to Dante.’
The first year involved replacing all of the stadium’s amplifiers with Dynacord IPX10:4 units. The IPX series offers 96kHz resolution digital signal processing for the highest performance, internal analogue-to-digital conversion with ultra-low latency, and a superior signal-to-noise ratio. The four-channel, Dante-enabled 2.5kW IPX10:4 amplifier can run in either 48kHz or 96kHz, including FIR Drive.
Year two encompassed remodelling the south side of the stadium, including suites, clubs, corridors and concessions, while year three involved the north side. All existing BSS DSPs were replaced with Dante-enabled Blu-806DA DSPs coupled with Blu-120 and Blu-326DA I/O expanders. The Soundweb London Blu-806DA offers configurable I/O, configurable signal processing, and a high bandwidth, fault-tolerant digital audio bus. The processor features Dante audio with primary and secondary ports for fault tolerance, with control through a separate Ethernet port. The Blu-806DA also includes support for integration with Dante Domain Manager.
All Dante channels feed a Solid State Logic System T platform for mixing and production. System T bridges the gap between commonly found DAW and controller set-ups. Its digital audio handling and advanced production workflows, including Dolby Atmos, are complemented by SSL production tools for immersive music production, providing multi-format immersive and object signal paths. Full SSL dynamics and EQ are available on every channel and bus, along with 3D panning, DAW control, Dynamic Automation, Dante integration, and an inbuilt effect rack.
Gary French, AT&T Stadium’s A1 audio engineer, says that working with Dante offers seamless, low-latency audio networking, allowing him to manage complex audio set-ups efficiently with high-quality, uncompressed sound over standard IP networks. Dante’s flexibility and scalability make it ideal for professional audio environments, enhancing French’s ability to deliver top-tier sound experiences.
‘Working with the Dante-enabled SSL console is a game-changer for me,’ French says. ‘Its flexibility and ease of integration make managing even our most complex audio set-ups a breeze.’
The stadium’s massive A/V network is separate from the data network, but the venue uses the SSL HC Bridge SRC when content needs to be shared between them. HC Bridge SRC provides 256 bi-directional channels of sample rate conversion for Audio-over-IP (AoIP) networks. HC Bridge SRC facilitates connecting audio between devices running at different sample rates or in different clock domains on Dante (48kHz and 96kHz), AES67 or ST 2110-30 networks. The two network connections can be to physically or virtually separate networks, providing control isolation between two sets of equipment where an AoIP discovery and control firewall is required.
One of the best aspects of the project was that, even over three years, none of the fans at any of AT&T Stadium’s events were impacted by the changeover.
‘Dante has proven invaluable at the stadium because it delivers higher quality audio with greater flexibility and scalability, all while simplifying integration and control across various devices and platforms,’ Bratcher says. ‘Even though moving away from CobraNet was a massive undertaking, transitioning to Dante was worth the effort.’
More: www.getdante.com