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CGI installs major audio upgrade at Levi’s Stadium

Clair Global Integration (CGI) was engaged by technical design consultants WJHW to deliver a major audio upgrade at Levi’s Stadium, home to the National Football League club San Francisco 49ers. The venue required a new bowl audio system capable of supporting sports games while enhancing large-scale live music and entertainment productions.

The stadium has a standard NFL game seating capacity of 68,500 and up to 83,000 for major concerts - notably the 2026 Super Bowl where the JBL system handled game-day audio and served as an extension and delay system for Clair Global’s temporary Half Time audio deployment.

The stadium recently hosted six group-stage matches during the 2026 Fifa World Cup, with the new audio infrastructure supporting these global events. In recognition, the venue has won in the “Stadium” category of the Mondo DR Awards, a celebration of the world’s most impressive, fixed technology installations.

“This was an important project for CGI because we have a history with the facility”, says CGI Project Manager Matt Normandale. “Prior to being acquired by Clair, Pro Media Audio Video did the original install in 2014, led by Demetrius Palavos, VP of Sports Integration - Special Projects. It was very important to us that we were able to continue this relationship.”

The new permanent installation scope included JBL Professional bowl speakers mounted on custom rigging frames for the venue’s end-firing system design, positioned behind the scoreboard. Kevin Day, Principal - Director of Venue Services at WJHW, worked with CGI Sr. Design Engineer for Sports Projects, Brad Ricks, to design the system which combines JBL VLA301Hi, VLA601Hi, and VLA901Hi line arrays with Fulcrum Acoustic CS218L-WR subwoofers. The PA is powered by Powersoft Unica 12K and 16K amplifiers.

The largest array measures 27 ft in length and weighs approximately 8,400 lbs, while the smallest stands at 7.5 ft tall and weighs approximately 2,500 lbs. Due to this substantial weight, the stadium’s location in Santa Clara, California - which is on the San Andreas Fault and can cause significant earthquakes - combined with venue’s open-air design, CGI developed custom exoskeleton-style rigging frames to ensure structural integrity and seismic resilience.

Each array was pre-mounted at fixed angles and assembled in the stadium parking lot using truss-built gantries, chain motors, and forklifts before being hoisted by crane into trolley beams inside the scoreboard, again secured with seismic bracing. The system was also pre-wired in advance to streamline the installation process and minimize disruption.

In addition to the bowl upgrade, CGI installed a new DiGiCo Quantum 338 console and a Shure Axient IEM system in the stadium’s audio control room, while also redesigning patch bays to improve overall audio signal flow throughout the venue.

“The local Sound Image integration team, based in San Francisco, assisted wonderfully in a tight time frame”, Normandale notes. Close coordination between CGI, specialist rigging contractor RIG, and Levi’s Stadium on-site Superintendent, Ben Adams, ensured the project was completed safely and on schedule for the football season.

(Photos: Clair Global)

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