Gainesville is definitely “Gator Country” and a hub of activity. Home of the University of Florida Gators, Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, offering a plethora of memorable experiences in the most populous city in North Central Florida. With nearly 150,000 residents, visitors can immerse themselves in the world-class museums, be enthralled by the performing arts, and groove to live music. For those seeking adventure, there are eight nearby state parks with over 100 miles of trails for biking, birding, and hiking, promising exhilarating experiences for all.
To expand research opportunities and community resources, the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners partnered with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) to develop the Alachua County Agriculture and Equestrian Center. The center was created to provide a comprehensive venue for livestock shows, agricultural fairs, equestrian events, and various community activities. To power outdoor speakers across the venue, the center turned to the award-winning Connect Series amplifiers from LEA Professional.
The 37-acre site’s development involved the construction of new pole-barn structures, refurbishment of a 250’ x 150’ indoor equestrian arena, and construction of a new outdoor arena. These arenas included new lighting, PA systems, bleachers, and other infrastructure elements. When it came time to implement the PA system, facility staff contacted Daniel Hunt, Director of Business Development of JSC Systems, to design and deploy it.
“The equestrian center wanted to make sure that speech intelligibility and audibility of the PA system was excellent in both arenas and the stables to ensure participants stayed well-informed,” said Hunt. “LEA amplifiers were my first choice to ensure the audio was exceptional.”
One of the PA system requirements involved being able to page the stables from either arena using the Crestron-controlled system, so Hunt deployed Connect Series 704 smart amplifiers for the stables and the pole-mounted loudspeakers around the arenas. The IoT-enabled 4-channel 704D provides 700 watts per channel, supports Hi-Z (70V or 100V) and Lo-Z selectable by channel, and features Smart Power Bridge technology. With three ways to connect, the equestrian center can engage the built-in Wi-Fi access point, connect to the center’s Wi-Fi, or connect to the local area network via Cat5 or Cat6 cable.
The Connect Series delivers an industry-first professional amplifier family to feature cloud connectivity, a revolutionary advancement and a significant benefit for anyone maintaining the systems. With LEA Cloud, AV teams can remotely control and monitor the amplifiers regardless of the location or time of day. Whether from within the equestrian center or offsite, controlling the Connect Series amplifiers from afar helps teams work more efficiently, reducing travel and saving time and money.
“LEA Professional is proud to deliver crystal-clear audio for Alachua Equestrian Center spectators and participants,” said Brian Pickowitz, VP of Marketing for LEA Professional. “Our goal is for our technology to provide integrators and users with peace of mind knowing their audio systems will outperform expectations.”
