Buenos Aires’ Estadio Mâs Monumental has completed a full audio system upgrade to meet the standards required to host matches at the 2030 football world championships. The stadium now features Electro-Voice loudspeakers and Dynacord amplifiers to cover the main bowl with a Praesensa PA/VA system ensuring fans’ safety.
With a capacity of more than 85,000, Estadio Mâs Monumental is the largest stadium in South America. As the home to both Club Atlético River Plate and the Argentine national football team, it has hosted many high-profile matches, including the 1978 FIFA World Cup final and various South American continental football championship finals. In addition, the stadium has been used for rugby union internationals, as well as concerts and corporate gatherings.
In total it hosts around 500 events per year. With this broad range of uses, and no major audio renovation for decades, the need for a new sound system was clear.
‘The stadium’s previous sound system was obsolete, and we no longer had spare parts for its maintenance,’ says Maximiliano Valverde, Audio Manager for River Plate. ‘We were evaluating the possibility of having a permanent system in the stadium. After we looked at all of the technical aspects, we decided on Electro-Voice.’
The stadium conducted the upgrade with local Electro-Voice and Dynacord partner ARS Technologies. ‘Our challenge was to propose a system that, within the stadium’s budget, would meet their expectations, and we did really well,’ says ARS Technologies Professional Audio Department Head, Juan de Dobrzynski. ‘The stadium itself required a powerful pro sound and a failure-safe PA/VA system suited to the type of renovation it was undergoing. We had the opportunity to have Electro-Voice’s team measure how loud the Argentinian fans were during a match, and based on that, develop a solution that could handle even that level of noise.’
The stadium officials opted for a main bowl pro sound system comprising 46 horn-loaded EVH-1152 point-source loudspeakers, eight front-loaded EVF-1122D models, and 49 EVC-1122 loudspeakers. More than 100 Evid-S loudspeaker systems are installed in the concourses and hospitality areas. Six networked IPX5:4 and four IPX10:8 power amplifiers from Dynacord with a total maximum power capacity of 70kW drive the entire system with control via SoniCue software, while a Praesensa public address and voice alarm system completes the new set-up.
SoniCue Sound System Software has been a key element of the stadium’s new sound system. With comprehensive, real-time system control and its ability to create custom GUIs, it has made managing the day-to-day events activities simple.
‘We wanted to have a centralised system where we could control the sound in every area from a single location and remotely manage it without the need to be in the control room,’ Valverde explains. ‘The solution we have built allows us to manage everything from the control room on match days. Everything is networked over Omneo/Dante, so we can route signals from anywhere. Having a digital system makes it easier for us; it’s much simpler. We don’t have to run cables as we know where the nearest switch is. It is a scalable system that adapts to any changes that might arise.’
Alongside this flexibility, the other key aspects for Valverde were quality and reliability. ‘I’ve been using Electro-Voice for many years,’ he notes. ‘I know it’s an excellent quality product. And Dynacord power amps are real workhorses. They are the best choice for continuous use and extremely reliable. When you’re deciding on something you know needs to last, it’s about ensuring peace of mind, minimising equipment maintenance, ease of use, and good sound quality over time. These are the parameters we consider when deciding which brand to use for an installation.’
The result is a venue evenly covered by intelligible, powerful sound: ‘The whole stadium can hear well now at the same level,’ Valverde reports. ‘Before, as you got closer to a speaker, you’d hear more, and as you moved further away, you wouldn’t. But now, the distribution we implemented with the different systems means it sounds good from everywhere. We’ve had comments from fans saying it sounds incredible. The whole change has been spectacular.’