During last season this system was used and appreciated by fans at several local clubs. Holger Ahrens, visually impaired member of the 'Sportfreunde Ronhof' fan club, said: "The technology was good and reliable throughout play. The system enables a clear reception of the factual reporting and, at the same time, allows users to participate directly in the stadium atmosphere."
Spielvereinigung Greuther Fuert, a Bundesliga football club, has now installed permanent seats for visually impaired fans with live reporting, while 'Sehhunde' - Germany's national club for blind and visually impaired football fans - are working on extending this service even further.
The Bundesliga stadiums already featuring the TTS 300 system include the AOL Arena, Hamburg; RheinEnergie Stadium, Cologne; Playmobil Stadium, Fuerth; easyCredit Stadium, Nuremberg; Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion, Stuttgart; AWD Arena, Hanover; Commerzbank Arena, Frankfurt; Zentralstadium, Leipzig. "We are pleased to be able to support visually impaired sports fans with this technology", says beyerdynamic CEO Wolfgang Luckhard.
Other sports are also testing the TTS system. An initial trial for the handball fans at SG Flensburg-Handewitt last season met with an excellent response.
Beyerdynamic also reprts that a number of top UK-based companies, including Tate & Lyle, Rolls Royce and BMW have recently purchased multiple units of the TTS 300 Tourguide system, each comprising 10 FE316 receivers with charger pack, DT1 earpieces, and SEM316 handheld microphone and transmitter.
(Lee Baldock)
