Dick’s Sporting Goods Field, home of the Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer team, is the largest professional soccer complex in the world and features state-of-the-art audio and video systems. The facility boasts the largest video scoreboard and the most LED boards for a stadium its size as well as the only fully-integrated video and LED electronic video board system. Throughout the complex, cabling from Gepco International is used to connect the technologies, maximizing the experience for viewers in the stands and at home.

Empowercom was given the task of selecting and installing interconnect solutions for the head-end, voice data, cameras, and TV monitor locations for the stadium. Due to the complex’s size, signal strength over long distances was a major factor to consider. Along with the cable’s performance, durability was also an issue as the majority of the installation took place during the harsh Colorado winter. Since most of the runs were installed outside, the cables have to hold up in extreme cold and heat without compromising transmission quality.

Specific Gepco cables used in the project include VT61811PEF and VT61811TK triax cables, VSD2001PEF coax cables, GA61806PEF six-pair audio, GA61812PEF 12-pair audio, speaker cable, riser and plenum triax, and single-pair audio cable. Triax was installed for the 27 camera positions throughout the stadium for both serial digital and HDTV broadcasts. Six and 12-pair audio cables were used for all audio feeds, while Gepco HD coax was utilized for SDI and HDTV interconnections. All cabling laid during the install terminates in four locations: the truck bay (head-end), MDF, studio area, and field boxes.

“There were a couple of blizzards during this endeavor, and Gepco placed itself as a real solution for the extreme conditions of an outside application,� states Doug Walford Operations Manager for Empowercom. “The cables provide a quality transmission in all weather conditions. Working with Gepco was a pleasure, and their expertise was invaluable. We will continue to use Gepco products in future installations.�