CASE STUDY – EDUCATION | FARGODOME

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Located in Fargo, North Dakota, on the campus of North Dakota State University (NDSU), the FARGODOME is a public indoor athletic stadium home to the NDSU Bison football team. First opened in late 1992, the facility is owned by the City of Fargo and managed by the Fargo Dome Authority. The Bison football team competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and is a member of the Missouri Valley Football conference. The stadium also hosts NDSU graduation ceremonies as well as large concerts, other sporting events and trade shows. The stadium seats 18,700 fans for football and over 25,000 attendees for full arena concerts.

While the FARGODOME may be home to the winning Bison, the stadium’s audio system was failing to deliver the sound quality needed across the variety of events. The existing professional audio system at the FARGODOME had not been updated since 2006. Prior to the new installation, the stadium’s sound technicians began experiencing issues with aging amplifiers, and processors designed to continuously monitor the load impedance of each amplifier began to fail during live events.

THE BOSE PROFESSIONAL SOLUTION

The FARGODOME Authority turned to integrator AVI Systems to deliver a modern, premium quality sound solution. AVI Systems chose Bose Professional ArenaMatch loudspeakers, coupled with Bose Professional amplifiers, to deliver a more intelligible sound that was flexible enough for a variety of event sizes and audiences.

AVI Systems worked closely with Bose Professional to develop a plan that enabled the FARGODOME to use its existing infrastructure and minimize installation time. The team was able to utilize its existing fiber, CAT 5 cabling and software and replaced the outdated system with a new Bose Professional solution to promote a superior audio experience for event attendees. The new system provides a clearer, more enhanced audio experience that attendees noticed immediately during concert performances by the likes of Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, as well as during referee announcements at college football games.

“This was a smooth transition from our outdated audio system to a modern, easy-to-maintain system. AVI Systems and Bose Professional worked with us to install the new equipment in a very short timeframe, which was important so we could accommodate our scheduled events. The audio quality is so much better that there are now occasions where we can use fewer, speakers depending on the event. The new system has created a better end-user experience.”

— Matt Costello
Technical Services Manager, FARGODOME