Manchester City Plans to Build a Replica of the Etihad Stadium in the Metaverse
Premier League champions Manchester City plans to build a replica of the Etihad Stadium in the Metaverse. According to reports, the sports team will build the project in conjunction with the Sony Corporation over a three-year deal. The project will give remote stadium access to the club’s fans.
Manchester City Eyes the Metaverse
On February 18, Manchester City revealed that they inked a three-year deal with Sony Corporation to build a metaverse project. The sports team wants to build a replica of the Etihad stadium to serve as their central hub in the virtual reality world.
The project will be created using image analysis and skeletal tracking technologies of Hawk-EYE, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. The plans aim to give City fans an equally thrilling stadium experience remotely.
Per 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.”
The move by City to build a project in the Metaverse comes after their direct rival Manchester United inked a deal with Tezos. Tezos will serve as the club’s technology partner, and the team’s jersey also has its inscriptions. Since Tezos also hosts metaverse projects, Manchester United may also follow City in building similar projects.
The underlying premise of the Sony-City partnership will open up a new world for fans who may not be able to access the stadium physically. It will offer such fans an equal chance to tour the stadium and watch their team play at the English topflight league.
The Crypto Adoption Bandwagon Accelerates in the Sports Sector
Crypto adoption is now dawning on the sports sector like never before. It began with fan tokens, and now sports teams and associations are minting NFTs and forging strategic partnerships. Now, Manchester City has come up with one of a kind metaverse project, which may be just the start.
Different sports like racing, football, the NFL, basketball, and tennis have been touched by crypto adoption. Individual athletes have also made statements regarding cryptos, with some of them accepting crypto salaries. NFL star Odell Backham Jr. is among such players after accepting to receive BTC salary in 2021-2022 NFL season. Currently, the Superbowl is going on in America, with different crypto ADs displaying on the pitch.
The National Basket Ball Association has also been minting and selling NFTs for some time now. The sports Association also owns an NFT marketplace where all of the NFT tokens minted can be traded. Daniel Arsham, the Creative Director for Cleveland Cavaliers, an NBA team, also minted his NFTs last December and listed them on Nifty Gateway NFT Marketplace.
Australia Opens, a renowned tennis sports association, also minted its Decades Collection. The NFT collection aims to reconnect fans with past memorable events of the game. Other sports teams like Ferrari F1 and some football teams have also made partnerships since 2020 to mint NFTs.
These developments are part of an ongoing massive crypto adoption across all sectors. However, it’s best to DYOR on the projects before investing since they can lead to huge losses.
