AUDIO
SWANSEA ARENA Swansea, Wales Images: Eleanor Jane
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osting £48m to develop, the new 3,500-capacity
originally been specified. “What had been proposed was a ‘safe’,
Swansea Arena forms a central part of the new £135m
medium sized system typically found in a theatre.
Copr Bay regeneration programme in the Welsh city—
“But I wanted to challenge it [with this installation], I just didn’t
the crowning jewel within a 1.1-acre coastal park.
want to keep going down the same route. This was our first UK
The latest of Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG’s) 58 operator run
arena and I thought we should reach and test new products.
venues, it has been equipped with a versatile JBL VTX A8 line array,
“There was a more ample budget available for the system’s design
installed by Glantre Engineering following a competitive tender
and implementation, and we wanted to focus on the scalability
issued by main contractors, Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd.
of the system and that it would work within every conceivable
Consultant on the project was Neill Woodger Acoustics and Theatre
application. With that in mind, we opted for something tailored
Design. Glantre’s contract as system integrator was a turnkey,
very much towards versatility and broader functionality.”
covering rigging, drapes, full AV (including IPTV) and lighting, as
At the same time Stuart Graham was mindful that the venue
well as the audio component—not only in the main event rooms
had been designed not only as a multipurpose space, but with a
but also the meeting rooms.
modular auditorium, that would host a wide range of events—from
However, the recommendation for JBL’s compact line array had
theatre productions, comedy, conferences and exhibitions—some
come from ATG’s Head of Technical Operations, Stuart Graham,
of them simultaneously. He envisaged it more than a place for
who had been involved in the project from the outset four years
different production companies to plug into, and worked closely
ago. “We were able to have some influence on the design and I was
alongside Neill Woodger to fulfil this.
able to shape the technical requirement.”
It had been Woodger who had first directed Graham to
He noted the transition to JBL after another premium system had
Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre in order to demo the VTX A8,
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