Helios Arena, Villingen-Schwenningen (Germany)

Besides the regular challenges that most sports arenas pose to sound reinforcement, an Ice Rink, such as the Helios Arena in Villingen-Schwenningen, thoroughly tests the system also from the point of view of resistance to exceptional weather conditions.

The Arena is known as an ice rink, but at the same time it is also a renowned venue for large events, such as concerts or comedy shows. Not only did the requirements for both applications need to be met - sound quality, speech intelligibility, sufficient SPL - but the demanding environment had to be addressed, too. Humidity and drastic temperature changes which lead to high condensation levels were in mind when Fohhn Focus Venue and its weatherproof design were chosen for this installation.

It was also important to use the sound system without the LED screen, so that emotions could be conveyed without the need for video and visual effects. However, as soon as the LED wall is used, there should also be no line array in the way which could be visually disturbing – these were also important requirements that we were able to meet with Focus Venue, our Beam Steering Line Array System.

Challenge won, as the Helios Arena has already been used by well-known artists such as Bülent Ceylan, Hansi Hinterseer, Sido and many more for their concerts and shows which hosted several thousand spectators.

Thanks to Visutec Medientechnik for this great project!