Manchester City has entered into an agreement with Sony to develop a replica of its Ethiad Stadium in the Metaverse.
The reigning English Premier Cup champion and Sony will partner to create a virtual version of the stadium. If they are successful it will be the first instance of a full-sized football arena existing within a virtual environment.
According to a report from Sports Illustrated, “City” as it’s known, has entered into a three-year agreement with Sony to develop a virtual version of Ethiad Stadium. Specialists have already digitally mapped the stadium in preparation for its “move” into the Metaverse.
According to Nuria Tarre, City Football Group’s chief marketing and fan engagement officer,
“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.”
City club management envisions a time when they can virtually broadcast games in the virtual Ethiad stadium, allowing anyone in the world the opportunity to see live games. This could dramatically increase fan involvement as City believes just 1% of its fan base would ever travel to the physical stadium to watch a game.
“But also you’re in control of what you want to be watching at that time. There’s not one broadcast point of view, you can look at it through any angle of the stadium. That’s the sky – the limit.”
While major tech companies have been quick to embrace the Metaverse, Facebook has rebranded itself as Meta and has focused efforts on creating a detailed Metaverse experience for its users, and Microsoft recently acquired Activision for $69 billion in its bid to increase its own involvement in the Metaverse, sports clubs haven’t been as quick to embrace the technology.
Manchester City is on the cutting edge in that respect, exploring ways in which the fledgling technology can be used to connect fans from all over the world, allowing them to engage and interact without ever leaving the comfort of their homes.
“The first step is building an environment itself. We’re building a virtual Etihad Stadium, which is going to be similar to the one today, but probably more futuristic.”
