The Telekom Center Athens is the largest multipurpose space in Greece, hosting a varied programme of shows and events as well as being home to the Panathinaikos BC Aktor basketball team. With retractable seating and flexible use, the 19,000-seat venue’s sound coverage requirements are now met by d&b audiotechnik A-Series augmented arrays.
What management company White Veil required was a sound system capable not only of delivering clear, consistent audio coverage across the whole audience area – regardless of the event type – but which could ensure independent zone control that only those areas needed for each event would be active. To allow ready transition between configurations, access to zone control needed to be via preset scenes. Additioanlly, the system had to be lightweight enough to meet the roof’s load limitations.
For a solution, the arena turned to Athens-based systems integrator and audiovisual specialist, Telmaco. ‘The system had to deliver sufficient SPL and clear, consistent, full-range coverage across the entire audience area for all event types,’ Telmaco’s CEO Vassilis Kyriazis explains. ‘We needed an average of 100dB(A) over 90 per cent of seats, with ±3 dB uniformity and a 37Hz–18kHz frequency response – combining all this output and precise directivity with a system that could fit with the low structural capacity.’
Project completion was initially planned for summer 2026, however, once the arena was selected to host the EuroLeague Final Four in May 2026, the deadline was brought forward. The challenge of achieving such high acoustic performance, while keeping structural weight to a minimum, was now compounded by the project’s shortened implementation window.
To make it happen, Telmaco imported a detailed 3D model into d&b’s ArrayCalc software, enabling d&b’s Education & Application Support team to design the sound system and support the commissioning on site, including the set-up of the required operational scenarios in d&b’s R1 Remote control software.
‘ArrayCalc gave us a solid idea of where and how we would achieve our targets,’ according to Andreas Zantzas, A/V design engineer at Telmaco, ‘and it helped us speed up tuning of the system after the installation was completed.’
Beyond design and commissioning, d&b’s custom solutions team produced bespoke rigging frames specifically for this project, allowing the line arrays to be deployed exactly as required by the venue’s structural and coverage constraints.
The system is based around 14 flown main arrays of ALi60/ALi90, centrally suspended on custom d&b frames. These comprise four arrays serving the outer corners, four extended to lower positions for the retractable seating behind the baskets, four for the court-level side seating and another two arrays aimed at the playing area, also covering the court-side seating. They are complemented by ten Vi-GSubs flown directly behind the main arrays in cardioid configuration. Further ALi90 and ALi60 cabinets provide delay for the central and corner areas of the upper tier, while 18 8S cabinets provide under-balcony fill.
‘The low weight of the A-Series was key,’ Zantzas says. ‘It let us reach the required SPL, output and directivity while staying well within the roof’s rigging and load-bearing limits.’
Control of the system is via d&b R1 from a dedicated PC, handling both scenario presets and system monitoring. Custom snapshots were configured for easy, straightforward operation by the end user. Furthermore, the system is connected to the existing public-address/announcement system, to relay emergency signal when required.
‘The new d&b system has transformed the arena’s audio performance by delivering outstanding sound quality and consistent coverage throughout the venue,’ reports Telekom Center Athens CEO, Ilias Vrisis. ‘It has significantly enhanced the experience for both audiences and performers.’
More: www.dbaudio.com