LD Systems, WJHW Team for World Cup Installation

Houston, TX (July 7, 2026)—The entire globe has been focused on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the U.S. hosting games across the nation at different top sports venues. Key among them has been Houston’s NRG Stadium (briefly renamed Houston Stadium for the duration of the World Cup), which hosted seven games, including Morocco’s blowout 3-0 win against Canada this past Saturday. In the run up to the World Cup, LD Systems helped prepare the venue, installing a new Fulcrum Acoustic bowl audio system at the site.

Working on behalf of Harris County and the NFL Houston Texans, LD Systems worked with technical consultants WJHW to implement a system that could improve audio quality while maintaining the venue’s existing point-source system design, ensuring that all 72,220 seats were covered.

It wasn’t the first time LD Systems set foot in the stadium, however, as it integrated the venue’s original audio requirements stadium-wide, including concourses, clubs, restrooms, terraces and entrances back in 2002, and has provided technical maintenance and production support for every major event since. As a result, said LD Systems Sales Engineer, Kevin Broussard, “We knew exactly what this job required and that familiarity ultimately saw us back on the project.”

The main bowl (situated on the venue’s ‘super truss’), concourses and support spaces utilize a total of 1,194 Fulcrum loudspeakers, comprising AHC443 high-output horn-loaded arrays, CS218LWR dual 18-inch weather-resistant subwoofers, and various other models including CX1226-MT200, CX1226, CX1595, CX826-MT120, FH1566 and FH1595.

While it’s a large number of speakers, the overall system weight has been reduced by 40%—a necessary move, because everything had to be mounted onto the super truss, since the roof retracts, making hangs from it impossible.

The super truss is located approximately 250 feet above the football field: “We re-used the original custom rigging system frames which allows the speakers to be lowered and serviced without ever affecting alignment,” Broussard says. “In 24 years, we’ve never had to lower a single speaker from the original system. Our new install follows the same approach—removing old speakers and hoisting new ones into the exact same positions.”

The LD Systems team, including Project Manager Michael Keefe and Project Engineer Anthony DiDonato, had six months to remove the old system and install the full, site-wide upgrade, yet bowl system tuning was completed in just six hours over a single day. “It sounds amazing, and we’re very proud of that fact!” notes Broussard.

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System amplification is provided by Powersoft Unica amplifiers serving the main seating bowl and concourse systems, and Crown DCI amplifiers are dedicated to clubs, back-of-house, and ancillary spaces.

LD Systems has also installed a new control system and network backbone across the building. The primary mixing platform is a Yamaha Rivage PM5, and wireless audio is supported by Shure Axient wireless microphones.

The audio infrastructure is managed through a Q-SYS platform featuring Core 5200 processors operating in a redundant configuration for mission-critical system reliability, and the Core 610 processors service the suite-level audio systems.

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Suite audio distribution was a significant aspect of the upgrade and houses more Q-SYS; SPA-Qf 60×4 network amplifiers and QSC AD-C6T-ZB-WH ceiling loudspeakers. “One of the biggest improvements during this entire upgrade was adding dedicated audio to over 260 suites,” says Broussard “Previously, the suites relied on spill from the bowl or delayed TV audio, which could lag by up to four seconds. Now, every suite has its own speaker system, control panel, and multiple selectable sources.”