The GaREAT Sports Complex in Geneva, Ohio equipped with E-V sound systems
USA - Having laid claim to the moon with a Declaration of Lunar Ownership in 1966, Geneva, Ohio is a small city with a history of thinking big. So it's no surprise that the local GaREAT Sports Complex, operated by the non-profit Geneva Area Recreational, Educational, Athletic Trust, is an ambitious undertaking.

Started just two years ago, the multi-sport recreational facility on a 175-acre campus already encompasses more than 450,000sq.ft of indoor fields, courts, and tracks for year-round practices and competitions, as well as an outdoor stadium with a field and a track. Sound throughout the facility, which also includes dining and meeting rooms, has been handled by Paladin Professional Sound of Valley View, Ohio, working in close cooperation with manufacturers' representatives C. L. Pugh & Associates of Brunswick, Ohio.

With two decades of experience serving clients including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Cleveland Browns, The Ohio State University, Quicken Loans Arena, and Kent State University, Paladin is no stranger to the design, installation, and service of large-scale systems. Even so, Paladin's John Davidson, who led the design and installation effort, is impressed with the high bar the Trust has set for the GaREAT Complex. "They've got a facility that is second to none in the state of Ohio," Davidson says, "and they want sound that is as state-of-the-art as everything else."

To meet GaREAT's standards, Paladin has relied on sound systems built around Electro-Voice loudspeakers, amplifiers, and controllers. "Electro-Voice is my preferred speaker line," Davidson says. "For projects that merit modeling in EASE, I will always choose to model a system based on Electro-Voice over anything else, unless there's no EV product that fits a specific application. And when we get an EV system installed and running, it not only covers the way it should according to EASE, but more often than not we are surprised that the overall sound is even better than we expected. So, having a positive history with the EV line, I'm not typically going to choose anything else."

(Jim Evans)


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