Good News For The Citizen, Manchester City Creates Virtual Etihad Stadium On Metaverse

Manchester City builds a virtual stadium in the metaverse. (Jonny Gios - Unsplash)

JAKARTA – Premier League club Manchester City has teamed up with Sony to develop a virtual Etihad Stadium in the Metaverse. Man City announced on February 18 that they had signed a deal with Sony for a three-year contract.

Sony is rumored to be bringing in Virtual Reality (VR) experts to use image analysis and skeleton tracking technology from its subsidiary Hawk-Eye, as reported by Cointelegraph. On the other hand, Man City hopes that fans can enjoy the benefits of their virtual stadium.

When COVID-19 has prevented some people from watching the game. With the virtual Etihad stadium in the Metaverse, fans don't have to worry about COVID-19 anymore because they can feel the atmosphere of the match as in a real stadium.

The presence of the virtual Etihad Stadium in the Metaverse is considered to be able to overcome geographical barriers for fans who want to be part of a live match or rebroadcast. City Football Group's Chief Marketing Officer, Nuria Tarre, told Inews on February 18 that the whole point of creating a metaverse is for fans to watch the game live.

“The whole point of having Metaverse is that you can recreate the game, you can watch the game live, you are part of the action in different ways through different angles and you can fill as many stadiums as you want because it's unlimited, it's completely virtual. , said Tarre.

Sony's subsidiary Hawk-Eye has long been dedicated to improving sport for viewers and club officials. It helps them make in-game judgments in real-time with special replay technology. The visualization app will be used to recreate the dimensions of the Etihad Stadium in the Metaverse.

Manchester City seems to be leveraging the metaverse to provide wider access for fans around the world. Man City's plunge into the Web3 and Metaverse could be interesting for Liverpool FC. The Reds may follow suit to increase revenue, according to ECHO, Liverpool news outlet.

City rivals Man City also did not want to be left behind, Manchester United reportedly plunged into the Web3 ecosystem with a new partnership with Tezos (XTZ). Tezos will become a crypto partner and will be displayed on the MU training jersey. In addition, Tezos can also help develop the club's digital merchandise.