Allianz Arena gets the L-Acoustics upgrade

One of the most iconic football stadiums in Europe, the Allianz Arena in Munich, opened its doors in 2005. Its impressive features include a membrane roof made of nearly 3000 translucent air-filled cushions, which is the first stadium to boast an entire color-changing exterior. The stadium accommodates 75,000+ spectators in its three-tiered construction and is home to the football team Bayern Munich.

However, due to the stadium's size and unique features, creating a scalable sound system was a significant challenge. The membrane roof offered engineering flexibility, but it also caused considerable reverberation in the spectator area, making it challenging for audio design. An optimized, even sound level distribution was necessary on all three tiers, including improved transmission quality for music recordings and increased speech intelligibility for announcements.

Weight restrictions also played a crucial role in designing the sound system, as did sightlines and optics. Allianz's stakeholders did not want an obtrusive cluster of speakers interrupting the stadium's aesthetic. To address the reverberation and weight restrictions, a system was designed that delivered sound to the spectators, minimized reflections and met the stadium's unique needs.

The L-Acoustics Kara system was chosen as it offers an almost ideal ratio of weight, precision of coverage, achievable sound pressure level, and sound quality. The installation comprised 266 Kara line source elements, 54 SB18 subwoofers for the main PA, 48 ARCS WiFo as delay arrays in the curved areas, and 70 5XT coaxial compact loudspeakers under the balconies. The system is driven by 110 LA4X amplified controllers with a system output of 440,000 watts, distributed over ten central amplifiers, each with two 40U system racks.

Overall, the sound system upgrade at the Allianz Arena has met the stadium's unique needs, and Jürgen Muth, Managing Director Allianz Arena München Stadion GmbH, was pleased with the results. With the new system in place, the stadium can continue to offer top-tier national and international sporting events while providing an exceptional fan experience.