ORLANDO, FL, AUGUST 17, 2017 - When the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup kicked into action at various venues around the United States, Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) was on location supplying overall frequency coordination for this multi-city soccer tournament.
The 2017 Gold Cup was held at 14 venues in 13 cities. The Dallas metro area hosted two match days during the Group Stage: one at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX and another at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Nine other cities hosted Group Stage matches as well, including Cleveland, Denver, Harrison, Houston, Nashville, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa. The knock out rounds of the tournament were held in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The final was hosted in Santa Clara, CA at Levis' Stadium.
Preparation for the frequency coordination of Gold Cup began about a month prior to the tournament via a website hosted by PWS. This served as a platform for all vendors of Gold Cup to identify what frequencies they planned to use. PWS coordinated the compiled frequency lists with the local Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) and submitted all of the SBE-approved frequencies to the FCC for final confirmation.
"Coordinating a single location was fairly easy, but coordinating all of the cities and parties wanting to use the spectrum was the biggest challenge for us on this project," says Kasey Gchachu, project manager, Professional Wireless Systems. "At each venue, we conducted a sweep of the area to ensure that the frequencies allocated were available. Once complete, we set up camp for the media and to handle any last-minute requests before moving on to the next venue. In addition, we had to make sure we stayed clear of all public safety frequencies, which differed depending on what city we were in."
One of the unexpected challenges the PWS team faced was dealing with the affiliates, mostly from South America, who came in with unlicensed and unprotected equipment. The RF team also had to ensure all the foreign media's equipment was legal for use in the United States.
"We were working under the direction of Broadcast Service Group (BSG), the production company who hired us to handle the frequency coordination portion of these events and who managed the various vendors involved," adds Gchachu. "This was a huge undertaking on our part and something that would not have gone as smoothly as it did without the help and guidance from BSG Production Manager Linnie Morgan and her team of technical directors. They did a great job, as did the entire PWS team, which included Jason LoGrande and Ryan Stotts."
The CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Gold Cup is the confederation's premier event for national teams. The 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 14th edition of the Gold Cup competition and the 24th regional championship overall in CONCACAF's fifty-six years of existence. The CONCACAF Gold Cup crowns a champion every two years. A total of 12 nations qualified from each of CONCACAF's three sub-regions: North America, Central America and the Caribbean. It has reached exceptional levels of popularity, routinely drawing capacity crowds and millions of TV viewers throughout the world.
For more information about Professional Wireless Systems, visit http://www.professionalwireless.com.
About Professional Wireless Systems (PWS)
Based in Orlando, Florida, Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Masque Sound. Founded in 1992 by James Stoffo, a longtime engineer, technician and broadcast coordination consultant, PWS specializes in developing innovative gear for the increasing demands of RF equipment.
PWS has developed such wireless products as the GX-4/GX-8 combiner and the PWS Helical and Domed Helical Antennas. The company also develops and produces custom system packages and hardware, as well as builds custom antenna systems and specialized accessories. PWS has supplied and supported wireless systems for notable events, including Super Bowl 51, Coachella, as well as several events for the NBA and Joel Osteen. For more information, visit www.professionalwireless.com.
