Morocco’s capital city of Rabat continues to build on the international sports stage with the new Rabat Ice Hockey Arena – an Olympic-sized rink that doubles as a multipurpose event space, with lighting, structural elements, LED walls and a high-performance audio system.
The venue sets a new benchmark for sports and entertainment infrastructure in the region. At its heart, there is a K-array sound system specified to fill the entire arena with immersive, intelligible audio for any event. The project was delivered by Cegelec, a subsidiary of Vinci Energies that specialises in consulting, design, engineering, construction and the maintenance of commercial and industrial buildings and infrastructure projects. Cegelec’s audiovisual division managed the installation of equipment across the venue.
K-array equipment for the project was supplied through EcmaPro Systems. The brief was for an audio system capable of supporting 360° entertainment in a wide variety of use cases, from speeches and sporting announcements to music performances and large-scale public events.
A compact, precisely controlled system was essential, and it needed to be capable of delivering high output without creating the acoustic problems that less directional alternatives invite. K-array’s combination of line array technology, active subwoofers and integrated DSP amplification met these requirements, while remaining architecturally unobtrusive. The installed system consists of 48 Mugello KH2P I passive line array elements, 16 Thunder KS3 I active subwoofers and nine Kommander KA208 amplifiers.
The KH2P I is a slim line array element incorporating K-array’s Electronic Beam Steering technology, which allows sound beam dispersion to be digitally adjusted for precise aiming across the listening area, while mechanical steering provides additional command over both horizontal and vertical coverage patterns. The Thunder KS3 I is a compact active subwoofer built around a 21-inch cone driver and a four-channel 2.5kW DSP amplifier module, complemented by the eight-channel Kommander KA208 at 2.5kW/channel. Both employ the K-array Connect ecosystem, enabling remote configuration and signal routing of the system via mobile app. The KA208 is also manageable at scale via K-framework3, K-array’s professional loudspeaker design and system tuning software.
K-array’s engineering team worked with Cegelec throughout the project, providing system design consultation, acoustic modelling and analysis, on-site setup and tuning, and audiometric measurements and optimisation. The collaborative approach ensured the final system met the performance requirements of a modern multipurpose arena.
‘Installing a system of this scale in a purpose-built hockey arena brings its own set of acoustic demands,’ says Axians Director, Najib Bouskour. ‘K-array’s combination of precise beam control and clean high output gave us the tools to achieve consistent coverage throughout the venue, whether the arena is hosting a hockey match, a concert or anything else.’
The inauguration of the arena underlined both the quality of the installation and the wider ambitions of the venue. At the first tournament held on the ice, Morocco’s national hockey team claimed the championship, defeating several competitors, including the Portuguese national team.
Looking ahead, the hockey arena will host the 2026 IIHF Men’s Development Cup in June, bringing international ice hockey to Rabat and to the African continent at this level for the first time. With a K-array system engineered for long-term reliability and flexibility across event formats, the arena is ready to meet that occasion and every event that follows.
More: www.k-array.com