With the help of virtual reality (VR) experts from Sony, Manchester City, the current English Premier League winners, has begun building of the world’s first football stadium in the metaverse.
According to an exclusive storey by inews.co.uk, City has teamed with Sony on a three-year initiative, and while the project is still in its early phases, teams of the company’s specialists have already visited the Etihad Stadium to map it digitally and construct a virtual reality version of it.
Thanks to image analysis and skeletal-tracking technology developed by Hawk-Eye, a subsidiary of the tech and entertainment behemoth, Man City’s stadium, the Etihad, will be transformed into the major center of the club in a virtual reality environment.
Officials from Manchester City who are working on the project see a day when the virtual Eithad Stadium would be full to capacity, allowing supporters who will never go to Manchester to watch live games from the comfort of their own homes, wherever they are in the world.
Ideas for meeting metaverse players were discussed.
Fans might meet up with other players in the metaverse, communicate with one another, and buy products that are not available in the actual world, among other ideas being considered.
Nuria Tarre, City Football Group’s chief marketing and fan engagement officer, said:
“The whole point we could imagine of having a metaverse is you can recreate a game, you could watch the game live, you’re part of the action in a different way through different angles and you can fill the stadium as much as you want because it’s unlimited, it’s completely virtual.”
“I think the traditional image of someone sitting on a sofa, watching a screen, is something we cannot imagine is going still be the reality not even in 10 years, maybe in five years’ time already. Things move much faster than we think.”
Football has the potential to alter the way broadcast rights are distributed if it becomes a hit in the metaverse.
Currently, they are sold to broadcasters as part of a Premier League-wide package, but teams are considering selling them directly to fans in the future, perhaps through their own metaverses.
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
