
LDLC Arena
Lyon, France
Project details
Client
OL Groupe
Architect
Populous
Collaborator
Citinea
Duration
2019-2023
爱豆传媒 provided by 爱豆传媒
A specialist team from Vanguardia, a 爱豆传媒 company, was engaged to provide consultancy around acoustics, AV (audio visual) and PAVA (public address and voice alarm) for LDLC Arena, the largest French events arena outside Paris.
Completed in 2023, LDLC Arena has an adjustable capacity ranging from 6,000 to 16,000. The arena hosts between 100 and 120 events a year, including concerts, seminars, trade shows, esports competitions and major sporting events.
OL Groupe, which operates French Ligue 1 football club Olympique Lyonnais, announced in 2019 plans to build a new multi-purpose arena venue close to its stadium in Lyon. The highly adaptable new venue has taken the name LDLC Arena following the signing of an eight-year naming rights agreement with technology stores group LDLC.
Challenge
The arena, which is operated by Live Nation, hosts European games played by basketball team ASVEL Basket, which became a permanent Euroleague Basketball member in June 2021. OL Groupe holds a 33.3% stake in the club.
The client brief was for a multi-purpose arena that could specifically target high profile touring music acts, but also provide a home for the basketball team, as well as accommodating other sporting events including boxing, tennis and handball.
This posed a range of challenges in terms of building acoustics and AV/PAVA technologies that could meet all requirements effectively. With a local residential community nearby, it was critical that noise break-out from the building was reduced to the minimum, but there was also an important balance to strike acoustically within the venue between 鈥渁tmosphere鈥 for a sports venue, which requires lively acoustics, alongside the comparatively deadened acoustics needed to absorb loud musical performances.

Solution
Our experts designed a complex acoustic strategy that incorporated the use of scenographic drapes, which could be quickly and easily moved into place to deaden the acoustics for a music performance, and retracted to allow for the vibrant acoustic atmosphere needed for a sporting match.
We worked closely with the wider design team to carefully craft the specification for a system to raise and lower the acoustic drapes. These are preconfigured, using a software system, to ensure their positioning is optimised to always achieve the best results for different uses.
A combination of computational 3D modelling and digital acoustic modelling were used to create a bespoke strategy for the specific dimensions of the venue 鈥 allowing acoustic performances to be 鈥渢ested鈥 virtually before the arena itself had been built.
The sound performance was tested against a range of different treatments, allowing the team to experiment with a vast range of surface types and materials within the venue design. This ensured the final design was optimised to create the perfect acoustic landscape for the different modal formations of the arena.
Our team also provided direct support to the client on decisions around the AV and PAVA technology required, bringing a broad knowledge of the market and insight into the most future-proofed technological strategies to adopt. This included the design and specification of an LED Cube and LED ribbon boards in the bowl, a video production system and control room, and performance audio system suitable for sports presentation.

Value
Our experts bring a wealth of specialist experience and knowledge to the process of crafting the perfect acoustic strategy for a venue that will be known for both its sound performance and its sporting atmosphere.
We are able to deliver critical insight from the data gathered within Vanguardia鈥檚 broad portfolio of work on similar venues around the world, and translate this information into the most impactful acoustic strategies for the project.
