Go Boom! UM Conducts Stadium Sound Test

Several Chronicle readers who live in the neighborhood surrounding Michigan Stadium alerted us to emails they received today about sound tests planned for Friday afternoon and early evening. In his email, Jim Kosteva, director of community relations for the University of Michigan, states that from 3:30 to 7:00 p.m. on March 13, approximately five tests will be conducted that will sound like a “cannon shot.”

Reached by phone this afternoon, Kosteva said the tests will generate about 140 decibels of sound from a device positioned at the north end of the stadium in front of the scoreboard, facing into the stadium.

Measurements will be taken from receptors placed throughout the stadium, with the goal of determining how infrastructure changes within the stadium have affected the sound system. A massive expansion is changing the stadium’s acoustics – they’re conducting the tests now to figure out where to place speakers, and to allow time for adjustments if new wiring or other infrastructure changes for the sound system are needed.

Kosteva said he sent the email alert to about 100 people in the neighborhood, as well as city councilmembers Marcia Higgins and Margie Teall, who represent Ward 4. He said he also emailed a group of UM facilities managers, who in turn were to alert workers in the south campus area, near the stadium.

The Chronicle was hoping to observe these tests from an up-close vantage point (we like gadgets and gear), but our request could not be accommodated. Kosteva said the construction site will be shut down during the tests and that workers who conduct the tests will be wearing specialized gear to protect their ears from the 140-decibel blasts. He said that because the sound device will be facing into the stadium, there aren’t any safety concerns for those in the surrounding neighborhoods.