T-Series making the game in New Rochelle, NY

As the home of the celebrated Iona Gaels college basketball team, the Hynes Athletic Center has long been an incubator of athletic success for New Rochelle, New York’s famous Iona College.

First constructed in 1974, the arena has since undergone numerous updates. But with the last technical work having taken place in 2013, a major overhaul of the installed systems quickly followed the donation of more than $6 million by college alumni and well-wishers.

The subsequent renovation – described by Iona College as “dramatically changing the experience for both student-athletes and fans” – has delivered a new standard of multi-purpose sound reinforcement within the venue courtesy of TWAUDiO.

A proud competitor within the US’ Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Iona College is used to national and even international attention, but by the time of the donation, the limitations of its previous audio system had become obvious. Seeking to expand the use of its facilities, the college set out to find a more flexible audio solution alongside Connecticut-based AV systems integration specialist Metropolitan Interactive.

“Our key challenge was to build a high-quality audio system which could meet a variety of user needs while remaining easy to use within a tight budget,” explains Metropolitan Interactive CEO Jeff Mele. “Frankly, the TWAUDiO loudspeakers were a great fit.”

A total of 12 T20i enclosures now serve the arena, alongside pairs of T24N-90 and T24N-60, all powered by four Powersoft Quattrocanali 4084 DSP amplifiers.

“The gymnasium has been entirely renovated and reconfigured with bleachers on all four sides of the court,” continues Mele. “Three T20i loudspeakers cover each bank of bleachers for games and events. A pair of T24N-90 mounted at the east end of the gym are aimed towards the far bank of bleachers for end-stage events to cover the floor.

“In addition, a pair of T24N-60 are mounted on the South side of the gym aimed northwards to cover the floor for rallies and other wide event setups, as well as providing reinforcement on the floor for games. For the East stage configuration, delays are used on the south-, west- and north-facing speakers to focus attention on the stage area.” Control for the system is via a Q-SYS 110f Core with a Touchmix-8 mixer and a mixture of QSC and Attero Tech wall panels.

“The TWAUDiO solution provides a wide, even field of coverage within the arena,” concludes Mele. “The result of our choice of TWAUDiO is that we could keep the equipment count to a minimum while still generating plenty of headroom above an excited crowd of basketball fans.”

Photos: Iona College