BYU Marriott Center, Provo, UT, USA

Context

The Team

BYU Marriott Center Makes a Long Throw Look Easy with L-Acoustics K2

Brigham Young University’s Marriott Center in Provo is a massive venue—actually the biggest in the Big 12. As one of the largest on-campus arenas in the country, it seats nearly 18,000 fans for the BYU Cougars basketball. Over the years, the university has always made high-quality audio a priority to keep the experience top-tier for both players and fans. This long-standing commitment is evident in their history with L-Acoustics, starting with a dV-DOSC system in the concert hall in 2009 and a Kara system in the arena about 10 years ago.

The Challenge

Even though the old system served them well for a decade, the university wanted a “bigger” sound to keep up with the high-energy entertainment fans expect today. The main challenge was finding enough headroom to cut through the incredible noise from the “Roar of Cougars” (ROC) student section without pushing the gear too hard. Plus, the Marriott Center isn’t just for basketball—it hosts everything from weekly devotionals and graduations to concerts and dance shows. That meant the new system needed to deliver rich, full-range sound for music while keeping speech crystal clear for every event.

The Solution

To get that extra power and low-end punch, Brad Streeter, BYU’s Director of Audio Visual Services, worked closely with L-Acoustics engineers and the local team at Poll Sound to design an upgrade. They decided on the L-Acoustics K2 system. The setup features eight arrays of nine K2 enclosures that circle the central scoreboard, covering the lower bowl. For the upper seats, they installed 16 delay arrays using Kiva and Kilo speakers, and they even repurposed some Kara enclosures to cover the court floor. The whole thing runs on Milan-AVB through two P1 processors.

The Result

Moving to the K2 system has been a game-changer, giving the arena a powerful sound that handles deep bass effortlessly. This has made a huge difference in the atmosphere during basketball games. Even when the crowd is at its loudest, the audio stays clear and natural. By using Soundvision software during the planning stages, the BYU team knew exactly how the system would perform before they even started the installation. By bringing in tour-grade technology, the university has successfully blended the excitement of live sports with the quality of a professional concert, making sure every seat in the house sounds great.

Project photos