Kramer slam-dunks AV technology at Finland arena

Kramer’s advanced and award-winning AVoIP technology, has been selected to transform game days for fans at The IKH Areena in Finland, by delivering more exciting and immersive AV experiences both for match days and off-court facilities.

IKH Areena is a multipurpose sports venue located in the town of Kauhajoki – a town and municipality in the province of Western Finland.

Opened in October 2022, the venue is home to the professional basketball team Karhubasket, which plays in the highest national tier – drawing thousands of fans to its home games – and serving as a meeting place for the town’s 13,000 citizens.

The multi-purpose complex comprises of three restaurants, a lobby, six VIP sections, one large conference room, a team gymnasium, dressing rooms and, of course, the court on which the team play.

Ville Nurminen, AV Technical Manager for Karhubasket, researched and considered a few AV equipment companies, but ultimately Kramer was selected to serve both the local basketball team and facilitate local events.

In addition to scoring top marks for its products’ AvoIP capabilities and ease of use, Kramer’s local presence and close-at-hand support were a major plus, helping make Kramer the ‘slam dunk’ choice.

Its local presence and Finnish-language support were priorities for both the system integrator, Luova Tehdas, and the customer, providing peace of mind support at every step of the installation process.

AV considerations were a prime consideration before the first bricks of the Areena were laid, with Luova Tehdas designing the AV solution before the arena was built, opting for a networked system that enables sharing of AV content from multiple sources.

Antti Kivekäs, Audio Visual Sales, Luova Tehdas, said:

“You can achieve so much more with AVoIP and send anything anywhere. It is such a simple solution, yet it allows us to do much more than with a basic matrix system. Plus, it’s more flexible, and we can scale up if needed.”

The comprehensive system includes 50 KDS-7 encoders and decoders, and Kramer Control with SL-240C and KT-1010 touch panels. To complete the solution, the Kramer equipment was connected to high-end speakers and amplifiers, and screens from various manufacturers.

Content around the Arena can now easily switch to a multitude of sources including, but not limited to; game information and highlights, crowd engagement messages, and advertising.

Nurminen is more than satisfied with the arena’s AV system, and is particularly pleased with the ease of use, versatility, support, and quality. He said:

“The setup is really easy to use, which was one of the main points, as we didn´t want to have a specialist in the arena all the time. Luova Tehdas did a good job of making the user-interface friendly. Having a couple of iPads with the Kramer software installed is also a great feature as users don´t have to go to the control room; you can see that everything is working smoothly from the iPad.

“Since the Kramer system is so intuitive and easy to use it has also reduced support calls. And with the ability to make changes online, we’ve been able to provide remote support.”

This, of course, is a significant time and cost saver for both Karhubasket and Luova Tehdas. The easy setup and user interface ensure no specialist is required onsite to operate the system.

Installation challenges

Installation came with some added challenges as the integration team had to wait for construction to be completed, which was finally done just one month before the opening game of the season. Despite the tight schedule, the AV system was live in time, helping create a great start for the new arena. Antti recalls:

“We had great support from the local Kramer office, and we could call our Kramer Account Manager at any time – he also called us and asked how things were going. He is not just a guy that we buy from, we now consider him a friend.”

With huge global shortages plaguing many AV companies at the time, Antti was impressed that all equipment was delivered on time, and hassle free.

The AV system has proven to be extremely reliable, which is essential in a live game environment. The arena’s IT team is happy, and each game’s audience gets a far more entertaining and immersive experience. In addition, the goal of a customizable solution has paid off, with Karhubasket’s AV team’s ability to easily modify the panels as needed.

Best of all, Karhubasket’s expectations have been fully met. As Ville says:

“I can only recommend Kramer. There is nothing in the system that is not as promised. With Kramer, there’s no false promises.”

The atmosphere at games is now even more exciting than ever, as fans enjoy an engaging AV experience during games. With a system that can be easily adapted and expanded to changing needs, Karhusbasket can be expected to deliver thrilling on-court and off-court experiences for their fans for many years to come.

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