Nicknamed the Queen City, Charlotte is one of the 25 largest cities in the U.S. and the largest city in North Carolina. Home to more than 10 Fortune 1000 companies, including household names such as Bank of America, Lowe’s, and Duke Energy, Charlotte is also home to the University of North Carolina Charlotte campus (UNC Charlotte). A public research university of 30,000 students, UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master’s, and 79 bachelor’s degree programs through nine colleges. The athletic team’s nickname is the 49ers, indicative of the fact that UNC Charlotte (then Charlotte College) was saved from permanent closure in 1949. The mascot is, aptly, “Norm the Niner,” a gold miner.
UNC Charlotte’s Division I FCS football team kicked off in 2013. The team plays at Jerry Richardson Stadium, which holds approximately 15,000 people and can be expanded to up to 40,000 people. As a result of the football team’s immediate success, the football program moved up to Division I FBS in 2015. Before their move to the American Athletic Conference for 2023-24, the stadium was still using the original sound system from when it was built, which was sorely in need of an audio upgrade. To invigorate the crowd experience, the university turned to the award-winning amplifiers from LEA Professional.
The athletic staff contacted Stephen Morris, President of C.V. Lloyde AudioVisual, to help revitalize the audio system. The university wanted a more reliable and robust system that could energize the crowd with the actions down on the field.
“The old sound system was designed for a small FCS-style stadium, and UNC Charlotte needed a system that reflected the current status of their program in FBS football,” said Morris. “While top-notch sound quality was of critical importance to UNC Charlotte, they also wanted amplifiers that were reliable and easy to use, and LEA amplifiers fit the bill perfectly.”
Morris’s team installed multiple Connect Series 354D amplifiers to power the immersive audio experience in the stadium’s fieldhouse. With 96 kHz-capable Dante and AES67 connectivity options, the IoT-enabled 4-channel 354D provides 350 watts per channel, supports high-Z (70V or 100V) and low-Z selectable by channel, and features two Smart Power Bridge channels. With three ways to connect, the university can engage the built-in Wi-Fi access point, connect to the stadium’s Wi-Fi, or connect to the local area network via Cat5 or Cat6 cable.
The Connect Series delivers an industry-first professional amplifier family to feature cloud connectivity, a revolutionary advancement and a significant benefit for anyone maintaining the systems. With LEA Cloud, AV teams can remotely control and monitor the amplifiers regardless of the location or time of day. Whether from within the sphere or a different continent, controlling the Connect Series amplifiers from afar helps teams work more efficiently, reducing travel and saving time and money.
“The new sound system is great — it really gets our crowd going,” said Matt Messina, Associate Athletic Director for Broadcast, Video, and Technology at UNC Charlotte. “It’s great to see the excitement when we play that intro video, and the fact that the stadium sound system can now get those fans engaged and get them hyped for a game in the stadium is very gratifying to us.“
