Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, Tennessee
For nearly three decades, Finley Stadium has served as one of Tennessee’s premier sports and entertainment venues. Home to Chattanooga FC and the annual TSSAA State Football Championships, the 20,000-seat stadium welcomes more than 550,000 visitors each year for sporting events, concerts, and community gatherings. But after 29 years of service, the stadium’s aging audio system had become a liability rather than an asset.
“The old system was deteriorating,” said Brian Wright, Executive Director of the Stadium Corporation. “We had pretty much lost bass, wireless microphones stopped working well, handheld microphones were going in and out. It was affecting our clients and our guest experience.”
Recognizing that today’s fans expect more than just a game, Wright set out to transform Finley Stadium into a destination where premium audio would become an integral part of the overall entertainment experience. To achieve that vision, Finley Stadium partnered with Smart Systems and Biamp to design and install a completely new sound system capable of delivering exceptional performance for years to come.
Elevating the fan experience
Modern stadiums demand much more than public address capabilities. Every announcement, player introduction, music cue, and halftime performance contributes to the overall atmosphere, making consistent, high-impact audio essential.
“We wanted to provide entertainment for our fans outside of the game itself,” Wright explained. “Everything today is about AV, lighting, and creating a show. We could not do that with an inadequate sound system.”
Before committing to the project, Wright visited Georgia Southern University to experience a comparable Biamp installation firsthand. Seeing the system in operation confirmed the impact a modern audio solution could have on crowd energy and overall engagement.
“I got to see how the sound system actually enhanced the crowd energy and brought people into the action,” Wright said. “When I came back, I made it my mission to make sure we could get this project approved.”
Everything today is about AV, lighting, and creating a show. We could not do that with an inadequate sound system.
BRIAN WRIGHT
Executive Director,
Stadium Corporation
A true design partnership
For Smart Systems, the project highlighted the value of collaborating closely with Biamp throughout the design process.
“They’ve been rock solid,” said Noah Stein, General Manager at Smart Systems. “They stepped in and helped us with the design, and they’ve been a great partner. For a project this large, it was important to have a manufacturer that is a true partner.”
Biamp engineers worked alongside the integration team throughout the planning process, visiting the stadium multiple times to optimize loudspeaker placement and ensure consistent coverage despite the venue’s physical and budgetary limitations.
“Make sure you involve the Biamp engineers early in the design phase,” Stein said. “They were crucial to the installation and made the entire process much easier.”
A sound system built for the future
Today, Finley Stadium features an audio system capable of supporting professional sporting events, championship competitions, concerts, and community gatherings with outstanding intelligibility, impactful music reproduction, and long-term reliability.
More importantly, the upgraded system has transformed the fan experience, allowing the venue to create the kind of immersive atmosphere expected from today’s premier sports and entertainment destinations.
“We have reliability for years to come,” Wright said.