As sports fans in the stands of the Jobing.com Arena rally for their favorite team, production members are operating behind-the-scenes with state-of-the-art intercom systems from Riedel Communications. The leading provider of radio and intercom technology for broadcast, pro-audio, event, sports and theater industries designs and manufactures the Artist Digital Matrix intercom system, currently offering flawless communications to the Glendale, Arizona arena.
The 17,500-seat Jobing.com Arena, completed in 2003, is home to the NHL‘s Phoenix Coyotes and the NLL‘s Arizona Sting, as well as numerous concerts and family shows, signature sporting events such as figure skating, basketball tournaments and All-Star games.
ATK Audiotek, a sound reinforcement provider in the professional audio industry, was responsible for the integration at Jobing.com Arena. Founded in 1983, ATK Audiotek’s technical expertise and superior service in all aspects of live sound applications has led to its rapid advancement and leadership in the world wide audio community. ATK Services, a division of Audiotek, worked diligently on the integration to get the system up and running. According to ATK Services‘s Account Executive Jim Carmody, “Jobing.com Arena was looking to replace their intercom system that offered no flexibility. Riedel came in and not only offered flexibility, but simplicity in its use as well.”
Sitting at the heart of the Jobing.com Arena‘s production communications network is the Artist 128 digital intercom matrix system. Facilitating all audio and communications signal distribution throughout the arena, the Artist series was designed specifically for such large-stadium type applications. The Artist 128 allows AES3/EBU broadcast-quality audio throughout the entire system, not only within the matrix but also to the panels, which are connected via CAT5 or Coax. This makes Artist ideal not only for intercom applications but also for routing audio. The Artist intercom platform itself is conveniently scaleable to a matrix size of up to 1,024 users. Each Artist mainframe is a fully redundant system with redundant power supplies and controller cards. All modules are hot-swappable.
“The Riedel equipment is a vital part of our operations here at the arena,” says Jeffrey Heimburger, manager of production engineering at Jobing.com Arena. “We are using it for all of our in-house communication needs and could not be more pleased. The reliability and flexibility ensures our ability to provide flawless communications with our production team.”
The wireless communications solution for the arena is supported with the proven quality of professional radios from Motorola. These radio systems are connected to the wired communication systems via Riedel‘s universal radio interface RiFace, resulting in a fully integrated solution for both wired and wireless communications.
About Riedel
Riedel – one of the major suppliers of communications equipment to the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France – designs, manufactures and distributes the most sophisticated intercom and radio technology for customers worldwide in the broadcast, pro-audio, event, sports and theatre industries. The products reflect today‘s leading-edge technologies that expand conventional concepts into tomorrow‘s applications. The Riedel group of companies also includes a European based large rental operation that provides radio, intercom services, event accreditation & ticketing systems as well as fiber-based audio and video transmission systems. The Company was founded in 1987 and today employs over 150 people located within 7 locations in Europe, Asia and North America.
