How Manchester City and Sony are engaging fans worldwide

As we gear up for the 11th Summit in Madrid, set to take place on 12 & 13 November at the iconic Riyadh Air Metropolitano, home of Atlético Madrid, we learnt more from Manchester City and Sony on their new way of engaging with fans worldwide through the ‘Man City Virtual Etihad Stadium’ project. In partnership with Sony, this innovative initiative offers fans an interactive, immersive experience that transcends geographical boundaries, allowing supporters across the globe to connect, celebrate and relive key moments of the season. Join us as we explore how Manchester City is reshaping the fan experience through cutting-edge digital technology and virtual community building.

CONCEPT AND BACKGROUND 

The Man City Virtual Etihad Stadium project, delivered by Sony, offers fans a new interactive experience that enables them to join a virtual community with Cityzens across the UK, US and Japan to connect and celebrate moments throughout the season. The partnership announced with Sony in November 2021 has led to the development of a proof-of-concept fan engagement experience. As a result, Manchester City became the first sports brand to leverage Sony’s FavoriteSpace™ service. 

TECHNICAL ASPECTS & FAN EXPERIENCE 

The Man City Virtual Etihad Stadium leverages Hawk-Eye Innovations' advanced data tracking technology, allowing fans to explore immersive match highlights from City home matches in the 24/25 season while reliving key moments from the 23/24 season. The Virtual Stadium Tour also provides a unique experience for fans unable to attend in person. The project offers numerous benefits, including the ability to create personalised avatars and engage in daily challenges, social events, co-creation activities and mini-games. Fans can redeem digital merchandise in a virtual City store and interact with immersive highlights. This initiative builds on previous Virtual World experiences, such as Man City Blue Moon on Roblox and The Ladder on Fortnite Creative, further enhancing how Manchester City connects with its global fanbase. 

Through the FavoriteSpace service, Manchester City is creating new opportunities for club partners like Etihad and Nissan to develop engaging activations, including reactive LED messaging during immersive highlights of Premier League matches and unique challenges within the interactive Stadium Tour. 

Learn more about the project in the full article on our member exclusive ESSMA Knowledge platform