Man City is building a metaverse-based Etihad Studium

TL;DR Breakdown

• Man City constructed a world-first metaverse stadium.
• The EPL club partner with sony to create Metaverse stadium

Over the recent months, many popular brands have disclosed interest to expand to the metaverse. Now, sports clubs are also beginning to prepare for the shift; as one of the top English football clubs, Manchester City has begun developing its metaverse-based stadium. This will probably be the world’s first metaverse stadium and will serve as a new virtual home for the team and supporters from across the world.

Man City is building a metaverse stadium

The club recently announced its intention to re-create the Etihad Stadium in the virtual world in collaboration with technology and entertainment giant Sony. The current Premier League champion reportedly signed a three-year deal with Sony on this initiative and will leverage the company’s expertise to build the virtual stadium.

While the project is still in its early phases, Sony’s engineers have already visited the Etihad stadium to map it digitally for recreation in the metaverse. Through the virtual Etihad Stadium, the official at Man City envisioned the possibility of enabling fans around the world to watch live games from the comfort of their own homes.

Etihad in metaverse

The stadium will also include player spaces, where fans can meet and train with Man City players, compete in metaverse tournaments, and interact with other fans.

Speaking on the development, City Football Group’s chief marketing officer, Nuria Tarre, 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.”

The concept of the metaverse is relatively new. However, it has attracted several prominent companies, including Facebook, Nike, McDonald’s, and many others. As Manchester City dabbled into the metaverse, some other football and sports clubs are likely to follow suit.