Low frequency sound limits for live amplified outdoor music

The Rock Sports Complex (ROC) in Franklin, Wisconsin contains a number of outdoor recreational facilities, including a minor league baseball stadium, a drive-in movie theater, an outdoor concert venue, practice fields, and a ski hill. Residents adjacent to and up to one and a half miles from the ROC have reported disturbances from sound generated by the facility both inside and outside of their homes. A sound study was undertaken to understand these concerns and to make recommendations for thresholds to be used to balance the desire for facility events with the concerns of nearby residents and businesses. One focus of this effort was the quantification of low frequency (~63 Hz) music from the outdoor concert venue at surrounding residences. This paper discusses the low frequencies generated by the facility, as measured in the surrounding communities, and how they compare to noise ordinances for other US municipalities.