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Anybody have an idea what it would take to get a new PA system in the Ice Arena? Even if the entire renovation is a no-go, we need to do something about the PA system. At this point, we'd be better off without one cause ya can't hear it anyways.

So I'm asking, how do we raise funds for it?

I think they're raising money through the part of the 50/50 jackpot they aren't giving away because no one can understand the numbers.

It's a grand plan, really.

The renovation might not happen?

NY-BG-FAN wrote:The renovation might not happen?

It's been mentioned in a couple different threads.

I guess I should clarify. There hasn't been an official announcement by the University as of yet. But, with work supposed to start in approximately 2 months, has there been any effort to raise the $4 million in private funds?

It is quite possible they are in the "silent" phase of fund raising. If that is the case then talks are happening with a small group of donors who represent enough money to get the renovations off the ground and move on to the "public" phase of fund raising. That is my hope.

As far as the PA system is concerned, it is my firm belief nothing short of a new roof not made of whatever the hell it's made of now will solve that problem. Hopefully any renovations will look at the PA on an acoustic level and not just how many speakers and how loud can they be level. As for an immediate solution, here are a few.

Stop playing that canned sh!t and let the band serve their purpose for being there.

If you must play the canned sh!t then have someone operating the music that knows what the best volume levels are for the crowd on hand.

Playing canned sh!t at 10+ will do nothing more than blow speakers and make the sound worse!

Consult an acoustics expert and don't just throw speakers up wherever and this it will sound alright!

Finally, STOP PLAYING THE CANNED SH!T!!!!!

The place is equal to a tin can and will continue to be until an expert is brought in to do the sound work.

Was there a point in time when you could understand the PA system? We complained about when we were in school 20 years ago.

rood wrote:Was there a point in time when you could understand the PA system? We complained about when we were in school 20 years ago.

I don't think the sound system was any better back then, but Tom Glick had a big, deep booming voice that carried very well in ANY venue! It's hard to replace that kind of voice. It was one of a kind and well known throughout BG sports!!! He was greatly missed when he retired!

Well, coming from yet another disgruntled fan who can't understand half of what is said and who is getting a recording technology degree, here are my two cents:

1) - Bare basics - get new speakers! Those damn speakers are probably the originals from when the arena was built. They were shitty then and are even worse now!

2) - Turn the volume down and stop overdriving the amplifiers! Obviously, as someone else noted, playing s**t at 10+ doesn't do any good. Ironically enough, when some of the speakers blew yesterday night, you could understand the announcer better.

3) - Don't put as many speakers in the arena! Putting in more speakers doesn't make it louder. The more speakers, the more chances for the speakers to interfere with each other. Strategically placed speakers that have more power (less resistance) will be much louder than having speakers placed every 8 feet apart on the ceiling.

4) - I also agree with not playing the canned music. I'm in the band and I want to play (although, resting the chops every now and then is nice). But seriously, some of those recordings are ridiculous and too damn loud!

5) - A good sound system in that arena should not even cross $50,000. My vision is 10 good speakers (3 on the each long side, 2 on each short side). That's obviously the majority of the money. New microphones, new amplifiers, and new equilizers. Obviously throw in bulk wire and other things.
My freshman year of high school we got a new sound system - brand new 24 channel mixer, 2 digital equilizers, 2 amplifiers, 6 speakers, and 8 new wireless lapel microphones - $8,000. Obviously this is more than that and prices have gone up a bit, but it would not be a ridiculous amount for a new sound system.

6) - The last thing is put up a few (or more) sound eaters. There's too much echo in that tin can. Put up some sound eaters so there isn't as much echo! That would help volumes (oh... bad pun...)

That's about all I can think of at this point. The sound system sucks and it's time to get a new one! As for raising funds, no idea what they're doing. Maybe if we just keep bugging the university they'll allocate the funds.

Tom Glick rocked.