AusLeisure

The Australian Turf Club (ATC) has welcomed the installation of its new Audio Visual system at the Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, acknowledging the work undertaken by the P.A. People as having delivered the "pre-eminent Audio Visual system in the world".

Explaining the ATCs objectives in installing the system, ATC Executive General Manager Property Development Mark Flanagan recalls "(we) wanted to set a benchmark both nationally and internationally for (the) grandstand both from a raceday and non raceday events perspective.

"In addition, we wanted to ensure that punters attending the races were receiving all the information, and more - they could receive it either at home or at a pub.

"A centralised system which allowed us to be flexible with our offering as trends changed and as the masterplan for the spectator precinct developed - was also at the forefront of our thinking.

"The P.A. People combined with NDY (Norman Disney & Young) have delivered everything we were hoping in the system which is also easy to use and manage.

"We believe we now have the pre-eminent Audio Visual systems in the world to service our clients and use as a base for future expansion of the system."

The ATC had a vision to create a new paradigm in on-course facilities when it was conceiving its new Grandstand at Royal Randwick. They knew that a central part of that vision would be the technology employed throughout the new venue. The ATC engaged leading consultant Norman Disney Young to capture that vision as a performance specification, and successful builder Brookfield Multiplex chose Sydney based firm The P.A People to deliver the new networked television distribution and audio systems. Coincidentally, the Randwick project falls neatly 15 years after The P.A. People delivered the networked Audio systems for another iconic Multiplex Project, the Olympic Stadium (now ANZ Stadium) at Homebush.

At the time the tenders were let, little was known about the ATC's fit out requirements. The performance specification called up a number of TV channels that would be required, and an indicative number of TV screens that were proposed. On the audio side, required acoustic performance criteria for each space and an indicative number of zones were nominated, along with an overview of functional requirements and environmental constraints. The third element of the puzzle that formed part of the contract was a 1,000 port Ethernet network specifically designed to support both the IPTV and networked audio systems.

From that point forward, The P.A. People engaged with the services team from Brookfield, the consultants from NDY, two teams of architects and the ATC themselves to design and develop the systems that feature in the finished project.

NDY executive David Kyle explained "Norman Disney & Young considered The P.A. People the leading choice for this project, with the requisite skills, knowledge and flexibility to deliver in a demanding environment, with the added benefit of having previously delivered projects utilising similar systems to those proposed for this development.

"Having The P.A. People on board and their ability to bring first-handexperience to the table was imperative in maximising the outcome for the ATC."

There are around 800 screens attached to the IPTV network over the entire site, with over 60 channels and 30 signage pages able to be displayed. The system deployed is from Scottish specialist supplier Exterity.

Praising the Exterity system, The P.A. People Senior Project Manager Josh Jones stated "this is the fourth major IPTV system we have deployed from Exterity and this is easily our largest system.

"It has settled down without any significant issues."

To find out more about The P.A. People, click here to view their entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory. 

20th May 2013 - ANZ STADIUM’S NEW $3 MILLION SOUND SYSTEM SET TO BE IN PLACE FOR ORIGIN 1 

2nd February 2012 - REDEVELOPMENT TO REVITALISE SYDNEY’S ROYAL RANDWICK RACECOURSE

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.