Manchester City has begun building a virtual Etihad Stadium in the metaverse with the help of new partner Sony.
The Premier League champions hope the virtual stadium will allow fans to enjoy all the thrills of attending a real game and give international followers the chance to experience the match-day atmosphere, Cointelegraph reported.
“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,” said Manchester City chief marketing officer Nuria Tarre in an interview with Inews, quoted in Cointelgraph.
Sony’s subsidiary Hawk-Eye, most famous for its use in high-profile sporting events such as Wimbledon, will provide the virtual reality expertise, including image analysis and skeletal-tracking technology.
This is not Manchester City’s first steps in the virtual world. The club recently backed out of a sponsorship deal with crypto firm 3Key Technologies due to concern over its digital footprint.
Rival Manchester United is also expanding in the metaverse, having signed a multi-year sponsor ship deal with Tezos, a decentralised open source blockchain.
And other clubs may follow suit. According to the Liverpool Echo, Liverpool FC are eyeing up potential revenue streams from the metaverse, Cointelegraph reported.