CI 2019 INTEGRATION AWARDS: Best Large Venue Project

ESCO Totally Transforms Notre Dame Stadium

THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME is U Game day operations, management When the prestigious noted for its rich football tradition, but the and TV broadcast university wanted to turn school wanted to make its famous Notre Dame Stadium into something more than Scope Wasn’t the Only Challenge its famous stadium into just a sports venue. Much, much more. Not only was this a massive, multifaceted Integrator ESCO installed a full spectrum project to plan for, but the RFP agree- a multi-use space, ESCO of technology, addressing areas such as: ment between the client and ESCO — who complied by outfitting U Classroom had worked together on past projects — U Research required integrator-proposed specific solu- it with almost every U Multiple academic departmental offices tions that would be reviewed and critiqued U Student career and professional devel- by the consultant team. type of AV technology opment Plus, the original press box at Notre imaginable. U Centralized campus digital media Dame Stadium was scheduled for imme- U Student radio/TV diate demolition. ESCO was tasked with By Adam Forziati U Performance and rehearsal halls first creating an audio system that could U Student life and recreation last an entire football season, at least U Conference rooms until the work on a new press box was U Premium Club/hospitality and ballrooms completed.

42 | COMMERCIAL INTEGRATOR July 2019 commercialintegrator.com The Solution The combined volume, variety and com- plexity of systems provided by ESCO was astronomical: U 120 classrooms, conference rooms and meeting rooms with digital media transport and customized touchpanel control U IPTV and digital signage system serving the entire Notre Dame Stadium concourse areas and hospitality spaces, and provid- ing the keystone for media service to other athletic areas on campus U Dahnke Ballroom, Downes Club, and Foley’s Premium Club, each with several displays, automated separate/combine modes of room configuration, and extensive integrated control U New stadium bowl audio system con- sisting of two 21-foot tall, 6,700-pound array of loudspeakers on each side of the south end zone video board serving 80,000 fans on game day And that’s just the half of it. Throughout installing all of these, ESCO worked with each of the relevant departments corre- sponding to the different spaces. As anyone who watches college football knows, broadcasting is something Notre Dame takes very seriously. Here’s what ESCO integrates Notre Dame Stadium with solutions that span across ESCO installed surrounding broadcast and broadcast infrastructure, CCTV, access media control: control, Dante audio networking, U Broadcast infrastructure, utilized for theatrical rigging, lighting and more. transporting all national TV stadium events U AV, theatrical rigging & lighting systems within multiple premium performance and project. “ESCO hit the ground running when rehearsal spaces they arrived on to the Campus Crossroads U CCTV system consisting of over 250 Project, and carried that same pace through cameras and associated VMS (video man- to the finish line,” says Andrew Held, project agement software), integrated with the manager for construction services company campus-wide surveillance system complete Barton Malow. with multiple viewing and control locations “ESCO’s dedication went beyond just within the stadium operations and security delivering a working system on time, but management facilities also taking the time to meet with the U Access control system consisting of constituents to review their respective over 150 controlled doors, integrated with systems, and make sure the system was Cashore the campus-wide system optimized to best suit their needs.” CI Matt

U Security/intrusion system with over & 650 monitoring points U Dante audio network with over 300 EQUIPMENT HIGHLIGHTS streams and robust IP video network, Crestron Controls, AV Distribution, Touch- allowing source feeds facility-wide to be panels • NEC Displays • Crown Amplifiers • Communications shared with ND Studios. JBL Speakers • Denon Blu-ray, Media Player ESCO • Shure Microphones • Panasonic Video The Impact Cameras • Peerless-AV Mounts • Attero Tech It’s safe to say ESCO scored major points Dante Audio • Axis Surveillance Cameras • Courtesy with the university with this far-reaching Honeywell Alarm System Photos commercialintegrator.com July 2019 COMMERCIAL INTEGRATOR | 43