It's more likely that they were SX300's .... the non powered speaker looks just like the SXa. Are you SURE it was the powered speaker? It'd be more efficient to use a power amp at another location and just run speaker cables up to the ceiling.
Just my thoughts. You may be right, but I can't imagine a sports arena choosing the powered(convienience) option over increased power and better horn dispersion.
At ANY rate .... you'll be quite happy with your new gear, and your "Bose" friend will be jelous ! I had Bose products years ago, and while they are quite good, they are not the best for your situation. They are power "hogs" and they are MIDrange dominant. I never heard a Bose system that didn't need extra horns or tweeters, as well as a sub to round out the sound. They were great in the 70's for vocal PA applications, but lousy for instrument reinforcement without the extras.
If portability was not important to me ... I'd own EV SX300's with a powered mixer, a powered sub, and use the SXa100's as powered monitors. That wayI'd have the SXa's as a small backup PA in case of failures.
My Mackies overheated (more than once) on the job once, and I was lucky that I had powered monitor on at the time. I just turned the monitor to the crowd, and waited till the heatsink cooled down again. No one cared .... it was just a quieter time, that's all!