Since Facebook’s announcement last week ‘metaverse’ is one of the most hotly searched terms on Google. It is such a new term that my iPhone autocorrect doesn’t even recognise it yet.
The Metaverse for the Events and Sports Industries
Many people are asking, “What is the metaverse? How is it different to digital twins? Will the events and sport sector embrace it?” This week we have published a case study of our work with the LA Clippers to create a digital twin of their new arena, the Intuit Dome. The case study indicates how the digital twin (or metaverse) is being used to reduce costs, increase revenue and cut carbon emissions.
Over the next 10 days, I’ll be speaking at Event Tech Live (UK) and the NCS4 conference (USA) on this very subject. If anyone has any questions on these topics please contact us at [email protected] – I’ll try to cover this in my talks and will post a response in our next blog.
Create a Metavenue for the Metaverse
OnePlan has been working with a number of clients in the metaverse with VenueTwin. This creates a digital twin or ‘metaverse’ of a venue with which users can interact in real-time with colleagues and partners. The key driver behind creating a VenueTwin usually falls into one or more of the following categories:
- Reducing costs
- Cutting carbon footprint
- Increasing revenue
VenueTwin will reduce your costs
In the case of the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton the VenueTwin we have created is being used to facilitate virtual site visits of the stadium. Commonwealth Stadium is currently in the running to be a FIFA World Cup ‘United 26’ venue.
International Federations, broadcasters and event suppliers are able to reduce the number of actual site visits by instead walking an arena or stadium in the digital twin form. Signage, branding and any event overlay can be planned in the VenueTwin in collaboration with colleagues wherever they are in the world, in real-time. Users can access a highly realistic view of the venue as it would be during an event. Weather and light conditions can also be tested. Training and venue familiarisation can also be done from anywhere, anytime.
VenueTwin will cut your carbon footprint
With the reduced need to travel for site visits, along with other sustainability planning benefits, VenueTwin can be a big enabler for your sustainability goals. Any of your partners, broadcasters, suppliers and security can use the VenueTwin from their own screen – meaning a tangible way to track the reduction in your overall CO2 emissions per project and per year.
This can be tracked on an individual event or venue basis, as well as on an annual basis for larger organisations such as International Federations or major games events. VenueTwin’s hyper-realistic technology makes this possible. As an organisation, we’re committed to providing high-impact sustainable solutions for events and venues, as well as continuing to be a climate-positive company ourselves. You can read more about our approach to Sustainability here.
VenueTwin will increase your revenue
Physical venues are limited by their space, capacity and time. Only so many concerns or sports events can happen in a venue in any given year. But what if there was a digital twin where there were no limits and a venue had millions of potential users, concurrently using a facility? By creating a digital twin, venues can rent their space for online events.
The LA Clippers new venue, the Intuit Dome has only just broken ground and will not be open for 3 to 4 years. However, the sales team are already selling suites by using the LA Clippers VenueTwin to give prospective clients a highly realistic view of their suites and view of the field of play.
The digital venue can be transformed from a basketball game to a concert so fans can experience every type of event. There is potential to integrate NFTs into the VenueTwin and in the future, we’ll bring sound simulation so from home spectators can hear what it will sound like from their seat as well as see.
And with our SeatView tool within VenueTwin, fans are taken on the whole fan experience from the parking lot to their seat in a stunning hyper-realistic way. Their journey can be customised for a more engaging experience that feels individual to them – at the point of buying tickets for an event.
Unlocking new potential for the long-term
The metaverse is here, and we’re bringing it to your events and venues. Every venue will benefit from a digital twin. One day, our entire world will have a digital twin. A real-world metaverse that you can access, plan in and monetise 24/7. We’re excited to be creating this world for your events and venues.
I’m looking forward to sharing more about our approach to the metaverse for events and venues at Event Tech Live and the NCS4 conference. If you’d like a demo of VenueTwin, please book one at a time that suits you via our VenueTwin site.
