The Michiana Event Center recently built a new facility from the ground up with the help of their Sweetwater Sales Engineer and the talented people at All Pro Integrated Systems. Mark Salamone, Sales Manager for All Pro, took some time to discuss his involvement in this multifaceted $630,000 project.
What’s the Michiana Event Center?
The Michiana Event Center, otherwise known as “The MEC,” is a multi-use facility in Shipshewana, Indiana, that includes a 6,000-seat coliseum and 100,000-square-foot trade show space, along with offices and conference rooms. The coliseum features a dirt floor that’s designed to accommodate horse shows, rodeos, and bull riding tours, although the venue also hosts a number of high-profile comedy and musical artists, including Bill Engvall, Willie Nelson, and scores of others. The trade show area has hosted multiple expos and events, including the popular Shipshewana Merchandise Mart — known regionally as the best place to find one-of-a-kind, handmade boutique, vintage, and antique goods.
Getting the Ball Rolling
Mark came aboard the Michiana Event Center project after being contacted by Sweetwater Sales Engineer Jeff Barnett. Jeff has been deeply involved with the folks at the Michiana Event Center for years, selling them gear and providing expert advice. When he learned that they were planning to build a brand-new facility, Jeff wanted them to get the best possible service, so he contacted All Pro. According to Mark, a client’s Sales Engineer (SE) is the ideal way to get in touch with All Pro. Sometimes the SE will have already started building a system for the client; other times the SE simply hands the client off as soon as he or she knows that a major install will be involved. Either way, All Pro and Sweetwater will work hand in hand to achieve a result that meets the client’s needs and budget.
A Multifaceted Project
The Michiana Event Center was a challenging project — it’s not a single-event-style venue. It includes a coliseum that needs to accommodate rodeos, horse shows, and auctions, as well as country, rock, and comedy shows. Beyond that, there is a trade show area, along with a stall/staging barn, offices, and conference rooms, each with its own unique requirements. Mark indicated that he became involved early in the project during the construction phase and was able to embed the appropriate tech directly into the structure of the building. Mark noted that he partnered closely with the contractors, value-engineering the system to respect the client’s budget. There were multiple discovery meetings to uncover what functionality the client needed. Hundreds of questions were asked — Mark was committed to making sure that the All Pro install would do everything that the client wanted.
The Best Gear for the Job
The MEC is packed with gear: QSC amplifiers driving a powerful 51-speaker QSC line array for starters, along with Electro-Voice, Atlas, JBL, and Community speakers. Why so many brands of speakers? Mark indicated that neither he nor system designer Chris Wickizer felt obligated to install speakers from a single manufacturer; rather, they chose what would get the best results for each application. For example, QSC line arrays and subwoofers sounded best in this instance. Atlas ceiling speakers delivered excellent performance. EV speakers worked well for the distributed system. And Community and JBL provided top-notch results as external speakers. The coliseum is outfitted with a Crestron touch-panel control system, along with a custom Shure wireless microphone system and an assistive listening system from Listen Technologies. Blackmagic Design video production equipment was employed, as well as Panasonic projectors and Da-Lite screens.
6,000 Seats of Even Coverage
Mark explained that All Pro’s aim for the MEC’s coliseum was even coverage — the system was designed so that the attendees in all 6,000 seats would have an identical listening experience. There is a lot of science behind doing this, including the creation of EASE (Enhanced Acoustic Simulator for Engineers) models to inform speaker choice and placement. Beyond that, because the room was going to be used for multiple types of events, it was necessary to switch out systems for different purposes. That’s why there is a rolling cart with a console that plugs in for concerts, along with a portable stage. This system is moved elsewhere during horse shows — horses kick up a lot of dust!
Training the Clients to Use the System
When a client partners with All Pro Integrated Systems, the support doesn’t stop when the building is finished. Training is part of the deal. Mark stated that training is essential — especially for a system as complicated as the Michiana Event Center’s. This multiple-use facility accommodates everything from 10-person board meetings to 6,000-seat rock concerts. And not only do the coliseum, trade show space, offices, and conference rooms each have their own systems, but these systems are also divided into multiple zones to allow for targeted announcements and such. It’s important to All Pro that clients know how to get maximum use out of their investment.
A Passionate Team of Designers, Technicians, and Builders
The Michiana Event Center is just a single example of what All Pro Integrated Systems can create. This multiple–Solomon Award–winning company has installed countless audio systems, video systems, broadcast systems, and lighting systems, along with providing digital signage, acoustic consulting, and other technical services for houses of worship, sports arenas, casinos, universities, corporate offices, performing arts centers, restaurants, clubs, and more. They operate nationwide and beyond (they recently installed a $380,000 state-of-the-art conference room in Barbados). If you’re planning a major installation, check out our Design. Build. Install. page or give your Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700. They’ll hook you up with the brilliant folks at All Pro Integrated Systems and help your dream become a reality.
To learn more about All Pro Integrated Systems click here: Allprosystems.com
To learn more about the Michiana Event Center click here: Michianaevents.com