Toronto, Canada (February 26, 2024)—The Toronto Maple Leafs are currently third in the Atlantic Division and are running hot, having won their last seven games. Adding to that upbeat feeling, the team’s home ice—the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto—recently announced it will undergo a $350 million renovation that is being done in stages. That effort kicked off on the Mastercard Executive Suites level, which has received some state-of-the-art technology upgrades that were made as proofs-of-concept for plans to upgrade the audio system.
The initial audio design came global design and consultant firm WJHW, which specified 1 Sound’s Cannon C4i’s in the design for the Mastercard Executive Suites, Theatre Suites, and Mastercard Lounge. The Venue Technology team from the venue’s owners, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), planned to enhance those premium spaces through audio.
The goal of the design was for the audio system to fit in with the high-end finishes and feel of the room, and to have an enhanced audio experience in the suites while maintaining a small form factor. The vision was to bring directional sound from the court, ice, and other high-energy areas of the arena into the suites to create an immersive experience. The 6-inch Cannon C4i speakers were deemed a good fit for this plan between their small footprint and extended low frequency. Ultimately, MLSE produced a full proof of concept suite to demonstrate two Cannon C4i’s and other audio-visual technology in place.
Toronto’s Branch Audiovisual tackled the audio installation and worked with 1 Sound Custom Shop to satisfy the need for the loudspeakers to blend in. With this option available, MLSE decided to match the Cannons with the same paint color used for the walls where they would mount the loudspeakers. Branch AV installed about 100 Cannon C4i speakers with custom color C-Clamps accessories in all of the arena’s suites with primetime viewing for games and concerts. Similar speakers and clamps were also used in the Mastercard Lounge, the shared-members dining space.
The systems worked out so well that 1 Sound boxes are now used by another tenant of Scotiabank Arena—the Toronto Raptors basketball team. MLSE upgraded the Raptors Practice Court’s audio system with Branch AV and went on to utilize 1 Sound’s line of bigger loudspeakers for the basketball court’s system.
