Clair Global Integration has delivered a major audio upgrade at Levi’s Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers’ home ground and one of the venues currently hosting matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The project, carried out for technical design consultants WJHW, saw CGI install a new permanent bowl audio system designed to support NFL games, large-scale live music and major international events.
The stadium, which has a standard NFL seating capacity of 68,500 and can expand to 83,000 for major concerts, hosted the 2026 Super Bowl earlier this year. The new JBL system handled game-day audio and was also used as an extension and delay system for Clair Global’s temporary halftime audio deployment.
Levi’s Stadium is now hosting six group-stage matches during the FIFA World Cup, with the upgraded audio infrastructure in place for the tournament.
CGI project manager Matt Normandale said the project built on a long relationship with the venue, as Pro Media Audio Video, later acquired by Clair, carried out the original installation in 2014.
The new system includes JBL Professional bowl loudspeakers mounted on custom rigging frames for the venue’s end-firing design, positioned behind the scoreboard. The design combines JBL VLA301Hi, VLA601Hi and VLA901Hi line arrays with Fulcrum Acoustic CS218L-WR subwoofers, powered by Powersoft Unica 12K and 16K amplifiers.
The arrays vary significantly in size, with the largest measuring 8m in length and weighing nearly 4,000kg. The smallest is more than 2m tall and weighs more than 1,000kg.
Because the stadium is located in Santa Clara, California, close to the San Andreas Fault, CGI developed custom exoskeleton-style rigging frames to support structural integrity and seismic resilience. The open-air stadium design also added to the engineering requirements.
Each array was pre-mounted at fixed angles and assembled in the stadium parking lot using truss-built gantries, chain motors and forklifts before being lifted by crane into trolley beams inside the scoreboard. The arrays were also secured with seismic bracing and pre-wired to reduce installation time on site.
Alongside the bowl system, CGI installed a DiGiCo Quantum 338 console and Shure Axient IEM system in the stadium’s audio control room. Patch bays were also redesigned to improve audio signal flow across the venue.
Normandale said: “These major audio upgrades have greatly enhanced the fan experience. The system has more power than its predecessor, and the speech intelligibility is far clearer thanks in part to significant advancements in technology since our original install.”
The project was coordinated between CGI, rigging contractor RIG and Levi’s Stadium on-site superintendent Ben Adams, with support from the local Sound Image integration team in San Francisco.
Normandale added: “By utilising the new permanent audio infrastructure with temporary live event systems, Levi’s Stadium is able to truly maximize performance coverage, and fans can enjoy an upgraded visitor experience whether it’s for a home game of one of the world’s largest, televised events.”