‘We believe we now have the pre-eminent Audio Visual systems in the world…’ says the ATC!
(Australian Turf Club – Royal Randwick Racecourse, Sydney Australia)
“The Australian Turf Club wanted to set a benchmark both nationally and internationally for its grandstand both from a raceday and non raceday events perspective” Mark Flanagan, Executive General Manager Property Development of the ATC noted. “In addition, we wanted to ensure that punters attending the races were receiving all the information, and more – they could receive it either at home or at a pub. A centralised system which allowed us to be flexible with our offering as trends changed and as the masterplan for the spectator precinct developed – was also at the forefront of our thinking. The P.A. People combined with NDY have delivered everything we were hoping in the system which is also easy to use and manage. We believe we now have the pre-eminent Audio Visual systems in the world to service our clients and use as a base for future expansion of the system.”
The ATC had a vision to create a new paradigm in on-course facilities when it was conceiving its new grandstand at Royal Randwick. They knew that a central part of that vision would be the technology employed throughout the new venue. The ATC engaged leading consultant Norman Disney & Young to capture that vision as a performance specification, and successful builder Brookfield Multiplex chose Sydney based firm The P.A. People to deliver the new networked television distribution and audio systems. Coincidentally, the Randwick project falls neatly 15 years after The P.A. People delivered the networked Audio systems for another iconic Multiplex Project, the Olympic Stadium (now ANZ Stadium) at Homebush.
At the time the tenders were let, little was known about the ATC’s fit out requirements. The performance specification called up a number of TV channels that would be required, and an indicative number of TV screens that were proposed. On the audio side, required acoustic performance criteria for each space and an indicative number of zones were nominated, along with an overview of functional requirements and environmental constraints. The third element of the puzzle that formed part of the contract was a 1,000 port Ethernet network specifically designed to support both the IPTV and networked audio systems.
From that point forward, The P.A. People engaged with the services team from Brookfield, the consultants from NDY, two teams of architects and the ATC themselves to design and develop the systems that feature in the finished project.
“Norman Disney & Young considered The P.A. People the leading choice for this project, with the requisite skills, knowledge and flexibility to deliver in a demanding environment, with the added benefit of having previously delivered projects utilising similar systems to those proposed for this development. Having The P.A. People on board and their ability to bring first-hand experience to the table was imperative in maximising the outcome for the ATC”.David Kyle’ from Norman Disney & Young
There are around eight hundred screens attached to the IPTV network over the entire site, with over sixty channels and thirty signage pages able to be displayed. The system deployed is from Scottish specialist supplier Exterity. “This is the fourth major IPTV system we have deployed from Exterity” said Josh Jones, Senior Project Manager for The P.A. People, “and this is easily our largest system. It has settled down without any significant issues.”
“NDY have worked closely with The P.A. People and Exterity in Australia on another large venue Exterity system, as well as scores of systems in the UK and were confident that the Exterity system would deliver” said Richard Morrison from Norman Disney & Young.
The majority of the networked audio system comprises products from US group Harman. Over 1,000 individual JBL loudspeakers across ten different models, 80 Crown amplifiers and 12 BSS networked digital signal processing engines – form the backbone of the system.
Operating on its own dedicated HP Procurve Ethernet network, The P.A. People believe the facilities in the new Royal Randwick grandstand represent the largest integrated networked AV system in Australia, a short 15 years after they delivered the world’s first networked audio system in a stadium venue.
Find out more:
Royal Randwick Racecourse
Norman Disney & Young
