Lambeau Field Gets Audio Upgrade with Community Loudspeakers

On the eve of the legendary stadium’s 50th anniversary, the Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field underwent a massive redevelopment plan in an effort to transform the facility into a year-round tourist destination

While the stadium’s original classic seating bowl was preserved, the rest of the park’s infrastructure has been revamped, including an audio system upgrade that includes Community Professional Loudspeakers’ WET and R-Series weather-resistant loudspeakers. According to Mark Plopper of Green Bay-based Made Ya Look Productions, the company behind the audio system design, the Community R-Series had been tested and proven the previous year.

“We had installed the R.5s in the team’s Ray Nitschke Field practice facility last year, and everyone was more than impressed with their performance,” he says. “They thoroughly surpassed our expectations.”

The stadium’s concourse is covered by more than 120 of Community’s R.25 two-way eight-inch weather resistant loudspeakers.

“There’s a tremendous amount of ambient noise along the concourse,” head tech Dan O’Brien says. “It’s a very reverberant space, and you’ve got the sound from the field mixing with the sounds of the vendors, bathrooms and people milling around. The previous system was fine for background music, but important announcements couldn’t cut through the ambient noise.”

The system is configured as multiple 70 volt distributed zones, each covering a dedicated section of the multi-level concourse, with 12 to 14 loudspeakers per zone. QSC PL-Series amplifiers power the system. “The R.25s were so much more efficient that we didn’t have to upgrade the existing power amps,” says O’Brien.

Community’s WET Series W2-312 three-way boxes cover the stadium’s outdoor facade, as well as providing fill within the bowl. And WET Series loudspeakers and subwoofers are installed as part of the Tundra Tailgate Zone, a portable sports bar in the parking area.

Wisconsin’s legendary winters also led to the selection of the weather-resistant WET and R-Series loudspeakers. “They’re exceptionally weather-resistant,” says O’Brien. “Some of those speakers are in positions where they’re out in the weather all the time, and  all of them are subject to constant humidity and temperature changes.”

Mark Plopper concurs. “We checked the R.5s we had installed at Nitschke Field after one of the most brutal winters on record, and they still looked and sounded great,” says Plopper.  “We knew then they were the right choice for Lambeau Field.”