Stand back, NFL—Major League Soccer (MLS) is looking to make a move on the title for loudest sport in the stadium. CITYPARK, the new home of St. Louis CITY SC, the city’s MLS franchise, was designed with maximizing crowd noise in mind. Each of its two tiers is within 120 feet of the pitch, the closest of any stadium in the league, creating a clamorous bowl that seats a total of 22,500. Officially opened on November 16, the new $457 million venue also has a 3,000-plus safe-standing supporter section where the most ardent fans will generate even more noise. Furthermore, the venue’s roof structure, designed to pay homage to the city’s trademark shimmering Gateway Arch, is made from perforated aluminum, contoured to keep that noise inside the stadium while even amplifying it in the bowl.
However, that roof also presented a challenge for hanging the venue’s PA system, which had to thread—literally—many needles imposed by the architectural design. It needed what only the L-Acoustics A15i...
