Grants Pass, OR (September 3, 2026)—Worship always creates a sense of community, but finding homes for those communities can sometimes be a challenge. Plenty of churches have made their homes in spaces that were originally created for other uses—theaters, warehouses, tents and more—but River Valley Church in Grants Pass, Oregon may be unique for finding a home in a never-opened casino. Working with system integrator Arrow+Jay, however, the church finetuned the space’s audio as part of its efforts to turn the space into a welcoming worship facility.
The space’s unlikely journey began in 2022, when TMB Racing renovated a Grants Pass venue to become the Flying Lark, a 38,000-square-foot casino. However, facing delays and opposition from the Oregon Department of Justice and Oregon Racing Commission, the company opted to close shop and pull out of its lease before the casino ever opened. After the casino left, however, nothing came in to take its place; the site sat vacant and on the market for nearly a year until an unlikely entity made a bid for the venue: River Valley Church.
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The multi-campus church collaborated with multiple vendors to reinvent the space and now the former would-be casino is an 800-seat worship facility. Audio-wise, it was a challenge as the casino was built to be noisy and exciting, with lots of reflective glass surfaces. Additionally, there was both limited mounting height, and critical sightlines that restricted loudspeaker placement options.
With all that in mind, systems integration firm Arrow+Jay deployed Community loudspeakers with Biamp VenuePolar technology within the Ease Focus 3 software throughout the expansive sanctuary.
“This space demanded a sophisticated approach to acoustic design,” said Brian Engle, Systems Designer, Arrow+Jay. “The combination of reflective surfaces and architectural constraints meant we needed precise control over every aspect of the sound field. VenuePolar technology gave us the tools to model, predict and optimize the system before installation, ensuring we could deliver pristine audio quality while preserving the visual aesthetics the church required.”
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The system centers around four Community LVH-906/APB and two LVH-909/APB steerable venue horns, all positioned to provide coverage across the sanctuary using Biamp’s proprietary steerable array technology. Bolstering them are Community IP8-1122/66B and IC6-1082/96B point source loudspeakers used to provide supplemental coverage and IS8-218B subwoofers for additional low-frequency impact.
Arrow+Jay also utilized the VenuePolar plugin for EASE Focus 3, from Biamp, which allows consultants and integrators to design fully custom asymmetric coverage patterns for the LVH-900 through an intuitive, guided software experience.
“The difference is night and day,” said Michael Bahn, Executive Pastor, River Valley Church. “Our congregation can focus on worship without distraction, and our production team has the tools they need to create powerful, immersive experiences every week.”
