The New York metropolitan area buzzes all year long with concerts, shows and events of all types, but the summer season is when things really heat up. Despite the economic slowdown, the city that never sleeps sported a record breaking summer of concerts, special events and outdoor celebrations.

That was good news for Roselle Park, NJ-based Audio Incorporated. The company typically enjoys a full dance card through the summer months, and this year a number of new and expanded gigs made for an even busier calendar of backto- back events that demand flexibility and long hours for both personnel and equipment.


Directly on the heels of the Lincoln Center series, the Audio Incorporated crew loaded up their VERSYS systems and headed across the river to Flushing Meadow Park's Arthur Ashe Stadium and the US Open Tennis Tournament.

There again, the system met the test in an entirely different application. Before the first serve crosses the net, millions across theglobe tune in for the US Open's opening ceremonies, an elaborate celebration of live music, dance and celebrity appearances.

It's a fast-paced event that requires precision timing and well-rehearsed choreography from performers and technical staff alike. With a seating capacity of some 27,000 people, Arthur Ashe Stadium is the world's largest tennis venue.

Sinclair and company have devised a unique approach to the challenges presented in providing audio for the ceremonies. Audio Incorporated's solution entails four custom-built rolling carts, each carrying four VERSYS VL3 self-powered systems, along with power distribution and BSS London BLU 120 DSP units.

The carts, which are compact enough to be rolled out through the venue's low entryways, are then positioned in a four-corners configuration, each tilted back to point across the court toward the opposite quadrant.

Mike Sinclair explains the stadium's logistical and acoustical challenges. "The stadium itself is quite large, but being a tennis venue, the actual court size is not," Sinclair observes.