Borussia Dortmund football club is known as much for the intense match day atmosphere at its home stadium as it is for successes in Germany and Europe. Anna Mitchell took a trip to Signal Iduna Park to explore how an active audio system has been deployed to reinforce the club’s lively character.
Signal Iduna Park, the home of Borussia Dortmund football team, is famed for its passionate fans and match day atmosphere. It is the largest stadium in Germany with a capacity of more than 80,000 people.
With excitement and energy a key part of match days the club decided in 2012 that it was time to update its existing sound system that was based on EAW 750 and 650 enclosures and installed in the year 2000.
Over the years the stadium, and the sound system, had been extended gradually. The existing sound system was finally getting to the point where it was not fit for purpose any more. The speakers delivered sweet spots of sound but in between those areas there was a rapid drop off in intelligibility and audio quality. Furthermore, it couldn’t really handle the music requirements that were demanded from it.
On match days the sound system pumps out music, played by a DJ, for about an hour before the game starts, during half time and after the match. This all contributes to the legendary Dortmund atmosphere so audio was very important to the club.
RCF Group Germany worked with RCF Engineering Support Group (ESG) and RCF R&D in Italy to design and propose an active solution based on its TT-series and controlled using its RDNet protocol.
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