Community Hockey Arena Acoustics on a Budget
Sardis Sports Complex - Chilliwack, British Columbia
Owner: City of Chilliwack
The City of Chilliwack built a new rink at the Sardis Sports Complex in 2019, formerly called the Chilliwack Twin Rinks Arena. This rink is home to the local Junior B hockey club, the Chilliwack Jets, which garner large crowds of fans. Big crowds combined with a large, highly reverberant (echoey) arena set the perfect stage for acoustic treatment. Without acoustic treatment it is difficult to hear what is going on in hockey games (ringette games, figure skating, etc.), as well as being excessively loud and uncomfortable for those on and off the ice.
Like every municipality, the City of Chilliwack had a set budget available for the arena, some of which was allocated for acoustic treatment. Unfortunately, that budget did not cover the required amount to meet the recommended reverberation time targets. Budget constraints are not uncommon, so the City of Chilliwack and Western Noise Control worked together on a clever solution to increase acoustic treatment, without additional cost to the city.
The solid-coloured Echotrol™ acoustic wall panels in the pictures below, along with the acoustic Canadian and American flags were installed as the first round of treatment in 2019 by Western Noise Control. In the years that followed, additional acoustic custom-printed acoustic wall panels were added as advertising panels, rather than traditional advertising banners and boards that are not acoustic. This was executed strategically via their advertising RFQ’s. Over 4 years, the Sardis Sports Complex has added all its additional acoustic treatment with no additional cost to the city. Western Noise Control even had the chance to advertise with our very own panel!
This creative strategy allows those with even the smallest budget to begin an acoustics project in their local community. These arenas are the heart of many communities and house gatherings almost every day - let’s have them be as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
