UNC Chapel Hill - Kenan Memorial Stadium
20-20 supported Precision Audio on a major stadium audio-system upgrade at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, providing design assistance, EASE acoustic modeling, CAD documentation, rigging documentation, Q-SYS control deployment and commissioning, overall system-programming support, and initial game-day operational support.
Kenan Stadium is more than a football venue. It is a place where tradition, campus energy, game-day production, live music, public-address announcements, video content, and the crowd all come together to create the University of North Carolina football experience.
A stadium audio system has to do more than make announcements audible. It has to support the entire rhythm of game day—from pregame anticipation and player introductions to music, referee microphones, emergency messaging, video-board content, crowd engagement, and the moments that bring thousands of fans into the same experience.
The Kenan Stadium audio upgrade was designed to create a more powerful, controlled, and flexible stadium audio platform capable of supporting those demands across a complex open-air venue.
The system combines Fulcrum Acoustic weather-resistant loudspeakers, Powersoft Unica amplification, Q-SYS DSP and control, Dante audio transport, NETGEAR Pro AV switching, fiber connectivity, Shure Axient Digital wireless microphones, Allen & Heath dLive integration, and distributed equipment locations throughout the stadium.
Project Summary
Client: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Venue: Kenan Stadium
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Project Type: Collegiate football stadium audio-system upgrade
20-20 Role: Design assistance, EASE acoustic modeling, CAD and schematic documentation, rigging documentation, Q-SYS control deployment and commissioning, overall system-programming support, Dante and Pro AV network coordination, and initial game-day operational support.
Technology That Carries Game Day
Technology does not create tradition. But when it is designed and deployed correctly, it helps carry that tradition into the present.
At Kenan Stadium, the audio system supports much more than background music and public-address announcements. It supports the pace, energy, communication, and production workflow of a major college football game day.
It helps build anticipation before kickoff. It provides clarity when the stadium needs information. It supports music, announcements, referee microphones, video-related audio, live production, and fan-engagement moments. It gives the production team a more capable and organized platform for operating a large, distributed audio system in a live-event environment.
In a stadium, guest attention is always divided. Fans are watching the field, looking to the scoreboard, listening to music, reacting to the crowd, following announcements, and sharing the moment with thousands of people around them.
A properly designed stadium audio system helps bring those elements together.
The goal at Kenan Stadium was to create a modern audio platform that could deliver controlled coverage, clear speech, high-impact music playback, and reliable operation across the seating bowl, east end, terraces, premium areas, under-balcony locations, field environments, and other game-day spaces.
System Highlights
Large-scale Fulcrum Acoustic weather-resistant stadium loudspeaker platform
Fulcrum Acoustic AHS440, AHS460, and AHC463 scoreboard loudspeaker arrays
12 Fulcrum Acoustic SUB218L-WR subwoofers
Fulcrum Acoustic CCX826, RX8, RX8-MT60, and RX6-MT60 distributed loudspeakers
Scoreboard main arrays, near-throw coverage, outfill coverage, field coverage, and dedicated subwoofer arrays
Distributed coverage for the east end, seating bowl, terraces, premium areas, under-balcony spaces, and support environments
Powersoft Unica high-output amplification platform
Dual Q-SYS Core 24f processors for primary and backup DSP and control
Q-SYS TSC-70-G3 touchscreens for stadium operator control
Primary and secondary Dante audio-network architecture
NETGEAR Pro AV managed switching and fiber connectivity
Shure Axient Digital wireless microphone system
Allen & Heath dLive console integration
Distributed amplifier, network, and equipment racks throughout the stadium
Integrated public-address, music, wireless microphone, video-related audio, production, and game-day operational workflows
20-20’s Role
20-20 partnered with Precision Audio to support the design, documentation, control deployment, and operational implementation of the Kenan Stadium audio-system upgrade.
Our role focused on helping translate stadium audio performance objectives into a coordinated system that could be documented, installed, programmed, tested, and operated in a live game-day environment.
20-20’s contribution included:
Design assistance and system-development support
EASE acoustic modeling and coverage analysis
CAD drawing development
Audio-system schematics and signal-flow documentation
Rigging documentation
Loudspeaker layout and placement coordination
Q-SYS control-system deployment
Q-SYS DSP and control programming
Q-SYS commissioning and system verification
Overall system-programming support
Dante audio-network and Pro AV network coordination
Fiber connectivity coordination
Initial game-day operational support
This work was completed as part of the Precision Audio project team, helping support the transition from design intent through installation, control deployment, testing, and initial live stadium operation.
Fulcrum Acoustic Stadium Audio
The Kenan Stadium system uses a large-scale Fulcrum Acoustic loudspeaker platform designed for the output, coverage control, and weather resistance required in an outdoor collegiate football environment.
The scoreboard deployment includes high-output AHS440 far-throw loudspeaker arrays, AHS460 mid-throw coverage, AHC463 near-throw and field-oriented coverage, dedicated outfill loudspeakers, and dual SUB218L-WR subwoofer arrays.
This allows the system to address different audience areas and throw distances from a major source location while supporting controlled coverage across the stadium environment.
The system also includes distributed Fulcrum Acoustic loudspeakers for the east end, terraces, seating areas, premium spaces, under-balcony environments, and other supporting stadium zones. CCX826 loudspeakers serve distributed seating coverage, while RX8, RX8-MT60, and RX6-MT60 loudspeakers provide supplemental coverage in areas where a full scoreboard-source deployment is not the right solution.
The result is not simply a louder stadium. It is a more intentional audio experience designed to deliver clarity where it matters, impact when it counts, and more consistent coverage throughout the venue.
Q-SYS Control and DSP
Q-SYS serves as the control and DSP foundation for the Kenan Stadium audio system.
The system includes primary and backup Q-SYS Core 24f processors, creating a resilient processing and control environment for a major stadium audio deployment. Q-SYS TSC-70-G3 touchscreens provide dedicated operator access in the control-room environment.
20-20 deployed and commissioned the Q-SYS control system, supporting control configuration, DSP programming, signal routing, system verification, operational workflows, and programming refinement during the project’s initial live-event rollout.
The Q-SYS platform brings audio processing, routing, control, monitoring, and operator workflows into one connected environment. Instead of requiring stadium staff to manage individual amplifier racks, network devices, DSP processors, and audio endpoints separately, Q-SYS provides a structured control platform built around how the system needs to operate on game day.
Networked Audio and Amplification
The Kenan Stadium system uses primary and secondary Dante audio networks supported by NETGEAR Pro AV managed switching.
Fiber connectivity links the central control environment with distributed amplifier and equipment-rack locations serving the scoreboard, north and south stadium areas, east-end coverage, and other supporting zones.
Powersoft Unica amplifiers provide the high-output amplification platform for the Fulcrum Acoustic loudspeaker system. The amplifier infrastructure is distributed across multiple locations throughout the venue, allowing the system to support large-format scoreboard arrays, subwoofer arrays, east-end loudspeakers, north and south seating zones, terrace coverage, and other distributed stadium audio systems.
This networked and distributed approach supports the signal transport, control, monitoring, amplification, and operational flexibility required for a stadium environment of this scale.
Wireless and Production Integration
The control-room environment incorporates a Shure Axient Digital wireless microphone system, including Shure AD4QNP receivers, a Shure AXT630 antenna-distribution system, Shure AD600 Spectrum Manager, and outdoor antenna coverage.
This provides professional wireless microphone capability for game-day announcements, production workflows, talent, and other live-event uses.
The system also integrates with an Allen & Heath dLive production-console platform and DT168 stagebox infrastructure, connecting the stadium’s production workflow with the broader DSP, network, and distributed audio platform.
Together, these systems support a more organized and flexible game-day environment for announcers, production staff, operators, and other event personnel.
Initial Game-Day Support
A stadium audio system is not fully proven in an empty facility.
It must perform when the venue is occupied, live microphones are active, the production team is operating under time pressure, crowd noise is present, music and video content are in use, and the entire system is supporting an actual game-day environment.
20-20 provided on-site support during the initial game-day rollout, working alongside Precision Audio as the new audio platform entered live operation.
This allowed the project team to verify Q-SYS control behavior, confirm operational workflows, address programming-related items, and support the transition from installation and testing into a real-world college football environment.
For 20-20, programming and commissioning are not isolated tasks completed from a desk. They are part of a process that continues through verification, live operation, and refinement until the system supports the people responsible for running it.
Project Outcome
The Kenan Stadium audio-system upgrade provides the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a modern, distributed, networked stadium audio platform designed for the operational and experiential demands of collegiate football.
The completed system combines Fulcrum Acoustic stadium loudspeaker coverage, scoreboard main arrays, dedicated subwoofer reinforcement, Powersoft Unica amplification, Q-SYS DSP and control, Dante networked audio, NETGEAR Pro AV switching, fiber connectivity, Shure Axient Digital wireless, Allen & Heath dLive integration, and distributed amplifier locations throughout the venue.
For fans, the result is a more intentional stadium sound experience built around clarity, coverage, impact, and the energy of game day.
For stadium operations and production teams, the result is a more capable and organized system with centralized Q-SYS control, distributed audio infrastructure, professional wireless capability, and flexible operational workflows.
For 20-20, the project demonstrates our ability to support large-scale stadium, sports, entertainment, and live-event environments through design engineering, EASE modeling, CAD documentation, Q-SYS programming and commissioning, Pro AV networking, and on-site operational support.
