Clearwater's BayCare Sound at Coachman Park Goes Rider-Ready with L-Acoustics

	A close-up view of the house-right L-Acoustics L2/L2D main array and KS28 subwoofer hangs. Photo: Erick Celeiro

In Clearwater, Florida, they call The BayCare Sound at Coachman Park the city's newest outdoor, waterfront, boutique concert venue -- and every one of those descriptors is spot on. Opened in 2023 on Clearwater's Intracoastal Waterway, the venue's capacity is 9,000, with 4,000 seats under the canopy and space for 5,000 more on the lawn. Nestled in the city's newly reimagined Coachman Park, shows began on day one with Cheap Trick, and have included Peter Frampton, Goo Goo Dolls, John Fogerty, Foreigner, Kenny Loggins, Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band, and more.

The BayCare Sound has been on an upgrade trajectory ever since it opened, transitioning from renting its AVL systems to owning them, beginning with its LED video wall and, most recently, purchasing an L-Acoustics L Series sound system from locally based ESI Production Services, the venue's vendor from the start. That system, which was installed in March of this year, continues to utilize some of the L-Acoustics Kara II and A15 enclosures the venue opened with, originally rented from ESI.

"We had been bringing in systems as needed, but from a cost perspective, it made sense for them to own the system instead of renting for every show," says ESI Production Services president Erick "Otto" Celeiro, who notes that the venue is owned by the City of Clearwater and managed and operated by Ruth Eckerd Hall. "They had already been using our L-Acoustics systems and knew how good they sounded, so it made sense to stay with the brand."

But it was another equation that sealed the deal, one very familiar to outdoor event producers on the state's often-turbulent west coast. Celeiro recalls the day the system was demoed onsite last September was also just as Hurricane Helene was approaching the area. "The boxes were swinging in the wind, and I was amazed at how coherent and consistent the sound remained," he remembers. "It was more than I would have expected from any sound system, but the L Series made it sound like no weather at all."

Mark "Sarge" Yuhas, technical director and production manager at The BayCare Sound, confirms that stormy performance. But he adds, even when the air is still, the L2 arrays outperform. "There are just no holes in the sound here now," he says. "Often, if you're off axis to the mains, you'll experience a gap in the sound of a typical loudspeaker, but not the L2. I can turn off the delays and fills and still get great coverage, even with the mains three to four hundred feet away. It's a phenomenal system."

That's why, he says, touring artists have let him know they're happy to see the L-Acoustics L Series when they arrive. Shows there since the system was installed have included Brad Paisley, UB40, Melissa Etheridge, Styx, Willie Nelson, Chicago, Air Supply, Of The Trees, and Dropkick Murphys. "There aren't that many L2 systems out there yet, but some artists will have encountered them on a west-coast tour swing, and when they see it here, they know what to expect -- a great show," he says.

The system currently features main arrays of two L2 over one L2D per side, with sub hangs of six KS28 flown behind each main, plus six more KS28 on the ground as an LF-support center cluster. Seven Kara II are spread out across the stage as front-fills, while three K3 plus two KS28 on each side of the stage supply monitor side-fill. Some pre-existing Kara II lawn-fills, flown from the far end of the roof structure, and A15 out-fills remain in place from the previous system design. The entire system is driven via three L-Acoustics LA-RAK III and three LA-RAK II Milan-AVB racks, all processed via an L-Acoustics P1 at FOH paired with two LS10 Milan-AVB switches.

And while the "Hurricane Helene test" went very well, Yuhas notes that the system is constantly exposed to the area's high humidity and the venue's proximity to salt water. "We are a half mile from the beach and the Intracoastal inlet, and we're an open-air venue, but the L Series is holding up incredibly well to all of that," he says. "And it still manages to look pretty sexy up there while sounding absolutely amazing."

For more details on The BayCare Sound, visit www.rutheckerdhall.com/baycare-sound.