17 Feb Budapest National Stadium assistive listening solution

Bozsik Aréna is a multi-purpose stadium located in Budapest, Hungary. Construction of the stadium started in 2019 and completed in 2021. The new arena is a UEFA IV category football stadium used for national and international football matches as well as being the home of Budapest Honvéd FC. The stadium seating capacity is 9,000, with a 3-floor main building incorporating 900 VIP and 350 private box seats.

Built on the site of the old Hungarian national stadium, the new stadium is of significant historical importance for Hungarian football as both Ferenc Puskás and József Bozsik started their careers at the old ground.

In May 2020, Contacta’s partner in Hungary, AVMAX RENDSZERTECHNIKA, submitted their proposal for the supply of AV equipment for the new stadium. They received an order from the lead construction company to supply and install sound and their proposed kit at the stadium. The sound system included an assistive listening specification for the seating area, and a hearing loop system for the conference room.

Contacta’s design team set to work on drawings provided by AVMAX, which specified the areas in the stadium to be covered. The designers considered all possible assistive listening technologies and concluded that the best solution for the outdoor seating area would be a Contacta RF system while the stadium’s conference room would best be served by a hearing loop system.

The RF system was installed in the stadium stands adjacent to the main building, marked as the ‘family seating’ area. It consisted of an RF-TXRM Rack Transmitter connected to an RF-RP Repeater. Two RF-TXRA Remote Antenna Kits were used to ensure the RF signal has optimal reach, covering the entire family seating area. The RF-TXRM unit was installed in a rack cabinet in the voice control room, connected to the audio feed from the main mixing console of the sound system.

The RF-RP Repeater is located in the roof structure above the main stand. The antennas were fixed onto the beams of the roof structure. Users are provided with any one of twenty RF-RX1 Receivers with personal earphones that are supplied with the kit. An option of a neckloop for hearing aid users is also available.

Signage was placed in the family sector to indicate the availability of the RF system.

Following the recommendation of Contacta’s design team, a hearing loop system was installed in the conference room located on the ground floor. The team specified the loop aerial should be run in the 10m x 7m ceiling, creating a phased-array layout to overcome the high metal content and provide a strong and consistent signal coverage. A feeder cable connected the loop aerial to a Contacta V15a dual output hearing loop driver which delivered the required power and a high-performance signal, so that hearing aid wearers can enjoy an excellent listening experience.

The stadium will officially open in March 2021.