YBVR launch City Space on Xtadium platform
City Space has launched on the Xtadium platform, a new virtual reality experience developed in collaboration with immersive technology leader YBVR.
The experience of City Space gives fans a new way to connect with the Club, offering a unique view of the action through immersive VR.
Available exclusively on Meta Quest headsets, City Space allows supporters to relive iconic Manchester City moments and explore immersive 180° content from both the men’s and women’s teams. From key behind-the-scenes perspectives, fans can experience the Club through dynamic and engaging technology.
Xtadium combines traditional 2D video with immersive experiences, giving fans the ability to relive moments from entirely new perspectives. Whether it’s a celebration or the energy of the crowd, the platform places viewers inside the action, offering a first-person view of the matchday experience.
Immersive content brings the atmosphere of the stadium directly into the headset, allowing fans to experience the emotion and intensity of football in virtual reality. As new content is added regularly, City Space continues to evolve, giving supporters more ways to engage with Manchester City over time.
WATCH MANCHESTER CITY CONTENT IN VR WITH XTADIUM
Xtadium gives fans access to Manchester City content in a way that goes beyond traditional viewing. Instead of watching from a fixed angle, supporters can step inside key moments and experience them from within the environment.
The platform offers a more immersive way to follow the Club, bringing fans closer to the players, the crowd, and the energy of matchday, while new content released throughout the season ensures there are always fresh moments and perspectives to discover, making each visit to City Space feel different.
Horácká Multipurpose Urban Arena
A bowl designed and engineered for atmosphere — from high-intensity sports matches and large-scale concerts to more intimate events. A new urban landmark that integrates multiple sports facilities, activating the city centre and supporting local businesses. This is the Multipurpose Urban Arena in Jihlava, Czech Republic, designed by CHYBIK + KRISTOF.
The key challenge in designing a large multifunctional arena was its location — set in direct contact with the historic centre of a city of just 50,000 inhabitants. CHYBIK + KRISTOF approached this constraint as an opportunity: to transform the former 1950s ice stadium site into an active urban destination, building on existing infrastructure and bringing new value to the local community.
For this reason, the arena was conceived as a highly accessible public building, integrating a mix of uses — hotel, restaurant, a fan shop, gym, and a sport hall on the top floor. At the very top, it is crowned by a publicly accessible running track on the roof of the red oval arena. This mix of uses activates the surrounding area throughout the day, supports local businesses in the city centre, and turns the former stadium site into a lively urban destination.
A key factor in the competition-winning proposal was the decision to divide the arena into two volumes: the red oval arena and a taller silver corner building. This strategy breaks down the scale and opens up a space between them, accommodating an outdoor amphitheatre for live sports screenings and open-air cinema.
Read the full article from ISSUE 47 below:
https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/mdst47_digitallr/16
Sports Illustrated Tickets become partner of Aston Villa
Aston Villa has announced Sports Illustrated Tickets as the Club’s Official Fan Experience Partner.
This exciting new collaboration will see Sports Illustrated Tickets spearhead new premium hospitality experiences around the stadium, including the Sports Illustrated Warehouse, the new multi-use venue at Villa Park.
The partnership with the iconic U.S. brand will also introduce Club SI and Sports Illustrated Tickets Plaza, new and immersive, technology-driven fan experiences to add to the wide-ranging portfolio of hospitality on offer at Villa Park, complemented by Sports Illustrated’s rich, 70-year history of bringing stories to life.
Club SI is a hospitality pavilion blending Sports Illustrated’s iconic storytelling with curated editorial content, premium food and beverage offerings, and a modern social environment celebrating Aston Villa and the wider world of sport. Sports Illustrated Tickets Plaza is a core matchday fan destination featuring pre-match entertainment, stage and big screens, social space, food and beverage offerings, and more.
Together with the Sports Illustrated Warehouse, these spaces will provide a platform for Villa Park to become a year-round destination for fans of sport, music and hospitality alongside community group activities and business events.
Francesco Calvo, President of Business Operations, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with such an iconic, world-renowned brand in Sports Illustrated Tickets. Their desire to create fan-first experiences aligns with our vision to make Villa Park a go-to venue not just on matchdays but throughout the year.
“We hope their expertise will help turn the Sports Illustrated Warehouse into a first-class experience for our supporters and the wider community in the West Midlands and beyond.”
David Lane, CEO of Sports Illustrated Tickets, said: “This long-term partnership with Aston Villa brings together premium hospitality and Sports Illustrated’s iconic storytelling to deliver authentic, unparalleled fan experiences like only an SI brand can deliver.
“By creating a unified platform, we’re transforming how supporters engage with Villa Park across matchdays, year-round sports and entertainment events and digital and in-person experiences alike. This partnership also marks an important step in our continued growth across the UK and European market.”
Elior UK backs Scotland Women as an Official Partner
Elior UK has strengthened its long-standing partnership with Scottish Rugby, becoming an Official Partner of Scotland Women through a new back-of-shorts sponsorship deal.
The partnership saw the leading contract catering and services provider feature on the Scotland Women kit during their Guinness Women’s Six Nations fixture against England at Scottish Gas Murrayfield – a match which attracted a record attendance of over 30,000, making it the largest standalone women’s rugby match ever staged in Scotland. The deal will continue for the remainder of the current season and through the whole of the 2026/27 season.
The agreement marks Elior UK’s first venture into kit partnership promotion in Scotland. The business has worked with Scottish Rugby in the hospitality space since 2008, delivering ‘The Murrayfield Experience’ hospitality offer at Scottish Gas Murrayfield.
Elior UK delivers all conference, event and hospitality services within the suites of the national stadium, supporting Scottish Rugby in hosting hospitality and guests for major international fixtures, including the record-breaking Scotland Women match against England.
Craig Stewart, Managing Director, Stadia, at Elior UK, said: “Given our long-standing partnership with Scottish Rugby, we are proud to be an official sponsor of the national team for this Guinness Women’s Six Nations, at a very exciting time for the women’s game.”
Olaf Gueldner, Scottish Rugby’s Chief Customer Officer, said: “We have a close working relationship with Elior UK’s ‘The Murrayfield Experience’, and over the last year we have expanded that with a variety of new, exciting spaces within the stadium that have been used for our Scotland Men’s internationals as well as the Scotland Women’s match against England on Saturday.
“The fact that Elior UK is now becoming an Official Partner of Scotland Women shows the growth in our women’s team which is itself generating new commercial opportunities.”
HCLTech extend and expand at MetLife Stadium
HCLTech, a leading global technology company, have announced a new extension and expansion of its Cornerstone Partnership with MetLife Stadium, including its new designation as an Official AI Partner to the Stadium, the New York Giants and the New York Jets.
Building on its designation as the Official Digital Transformation Partner of MetLife Stadium in September 2022, the partnership now enters its next phase, with HCLTech exploring the integration of its AI-led capabilities to create intelligent, scalable solutions that enhance customer experiences and support smarter, safer, and more connected environments.
"Our partnership with MetLife Stadium, the New York Jets and the New York Giants demonstrates how strategic collaborations can drive meaningful brand impact and business outcomes," said Jill Kouri, Global Chief Marketing Officer, HCLTech. "We have created experiences that resonate with clients while strengthening HCLTech's brand presence across the strategically important Tri-State market. We look forward to building on the momentum and equity of our relationship by leveraging this multi-year extension as a model for experience-led marketing."
"HCLTech is an indispensable partner as they enable us to explore how technology can transform the customer experience in meaningful ways," said Ron VanDeVeen, President and CEO, MetLife Stadium. "As we continue to innovate, this collaboration will play a key role in enhancing the customer journey while continuing to ensure a secure and seamless experience."
With a growing portfolio of Fortune 500 clients in the United States, HCLTech continues to strengthen its presence through select, long‑term sports and brand partnerships that provide a global platform to showcase its strategic work. MetLife Stadium anchors HCLTech's sports partnership portfolio that has expanded into global golf, cricket and branded hospitality.
Electronic Arts announce landmark collaboration with VISA
Electronic Arts Inc., a global leader in interactive entertainment, have announced a landmark, multi-year collaboration with Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, to deliver the next generation of immersive, player-first experiences across EA SPORTS™ franchises.
Visa is partnering with EA SPORTS franchises EA SPORTS FC™ and EA SPORTS™ College Football, offering in-game rewards and experiences for EA SPORTS’ global community of fans. By combining EA’s interactive, participatory platforms with Visa’s expansive global brand, this partnership demonstrates how the line between sports fandom and video games continues to blur as audiences increasingly play, watch, and connect across both physical and virtual sports.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Visa for one of Electronic Arts’ most expansive brand partnerships to date, bringing more value to fans,” said David Tinson, Chief Experiences Officer at Electronic Arts. “At EA, we bring together a global community of hundreds of millions of fans through interactive play and fandom. That gives us a unique platform to connect sports, players, and culture in meaningful ways. Together with Visa, we’re building for the long term to create more connected, rewarding experiences for fans across some of the biggest moments in sports.”
The partnership will introduce immersive experiences that feel organic, premium and contextually relevant, leveraging dynamic technology designed to enhance gameplay without disrupting the experience. EA SPORTS will create tailored content as part of the partnership to drive meaningful and measurable value for partners and players alike.
“Interactive entertainment has become the new stadium for sports fans around the world, and our partnership with Electronic Arts and EA SPORTS puts Visa at the heart of that experience,” said Frank Cooper, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Visa. “Together, we’re creating meaningful ways for fans to engage with the sports they love, blending digital gameplay and real-world moments while making it more rewarding to play, engage, and connect through Visa and our many partners.”
Key highlights will include:
- Player-First In-Game Experiences:
- Within EA SPORTS FC, players can participate in limited-time challenges and live moments that grant in-game rewards as they play and compete.
- In EA SPORTS College Football, players can unlock in-game name, image, likeness (NIL) sponsorship opportunities within the game’s career mode, Road to Glory, reflecting how real college athletes partner with brands. As players accept branded deals, they receive boosts to their stats and attributes, mirroring real-world sponsorship opportunities for athletes.
- Rewards That Extend Play and Community: Players around the world can earn in-game rewards and participate in a branded Visa Objective in EA SPORTS FC 26, including Squad Building Challenges and a branded Visa Live Game Mode. In EA SPORTS College Football, players can participate in Visa-themed College Ultimate Team (CUT) challenges, featuring curated objectives, lineup-building moments, and limited-time events, to earn in-game rewards and engage more deeply with the Ultimate Team experience.
- Celebrating the Biggest Moments in Sports and Culture: The partnership comes to life at marquee sports moments like the Visa Infinite lounge experience at the EA SPORTS Presents Madden Bowl event during Super Bowl LX week, elevating the fan experience with immersive, premium moments that blend competition, entertainment, and culture, while celebrating the energy and passion of the player fandom.
To learn more about EA’s brand partnership opportunities, visit https://www.ea.com/brand-partnerships.
Genius Sports secure major partnership with Liga MX
Genius Sports Limited (“Genius Sports”), a global leader in real-time sports data, has secured a major technology and AI partnership alongside Liga MX, with GeniusIQ set to power an incredible suite of fan engagement, sponsorship and performance solutions.
As the operating system of modern sport, Genius Sports has deployed GeniusIQ, its data and AI platform, across every Liga MX stadium. GeniusIQ creates a real-time understanding of soccer, combining rich tracking, video and insights to then power real-time advertising activations, augmented broadcasts, semi-automated offsides and data-driven coaching tools.
Connecting brands with the biggest moments
Genius Sports’ Moment Engine will enable Liga MX sponsors and brands to activate real-time advertising around key moments in games. For example, immediately after a crucial goal, save or substitution, brands can trigger moment-driven campaigns across live broadcasts, digital and streaming.
Already live across the NFL and NBA, the Moment Engine will now enable Liga MX sponsors to act on fan attention and drive a new era of immersive advertising when the live action is at its most compelling.
Augmented, data-driven broadcasts
In partnership with Liga MX and its suite of domestic and international broadcasters, Genius Sports will power augmented altcasts to engage the next generation of fan. Real-time game insights including shot and player speeds, player names, pitch minimaps, number of tackles and much more, will be integrated directly into live broadcasts for millions of fans.
GeniusIQ has a complete, semantic understanding of what is happening on the pitch at any moment. Because it can automatically detect what counts as a shot on goal, it immediately serves a shot speed statistic in real-time, along with a sponsor’s advertising at the opportune moment.
A new era of semi-automated offsides
Launched at the start of the ongoing 2026 Clausura season, GeniusIQ is powering the leading Semi-Automated Offside Technology (“SAOT”) in world soccer in Liga MX. When a potential offside incident occurs, the technology automates the kick point and alerts the VAR operators. Genius Sports’ system then delivers a clear 3D render showing an exact offside plane, removing the need for manual lines and providing a decision visual with the best possible angle within seconds.
Also used across the Premier League and Belgian Pro League, Genius Sports’ SAOT has already driven significant improvements across Mexican soccer with fast, transparent decisions.
Rich performance analytics at coaches’ fingertips
Liga MX teams will be equipped with Genius Sports’ Performance Studio, the most advanced analytics and video platform in world soccer.
Coaches and analysts from each team will have access to a suite of performance and analytics tools to enhance everything from training to tactics and player development. This includes Genius Sports’ state-of-the-art ProView3D feature, which enables coaches to step into their players’ shoes and review critical match moments, such as a striker before taking a shot or a fullback preparing for a 1v1.
"At Liga MX, we are very happy to close this partnership with Genius Sports, as it represents a significant step in elevating our competition to the standards of the world’s leading leagues,” said Edgar Martínez, VP of Content at FMF. “From a sporting perspective, SAOT technology enhances fairness and transparency on the field. At the same time, from a fan and consumption standpoint, the use of advanced data and augmented reality integrations will transform how audiences experience the game."
“Liga MX is the most-watched soccer league in the United States and a growing force in North American sport,” said Sean Conroy, EVP, North America at Genius Sports. “The deployment of our next generation data and AI platform, GeniusIQ, will connect every part of that ecosystem, delivering world-leading SAOT while enriching the broadcast and creating premium new commercial inventory for sponsors. This partnership gives Liga MX the infrastructure to grow the league on and off the field.”
Sports Illustrated Stadium introduce RightHear audio way-finding
Sports Illustrated Stadium has announced the introduction of RightHear, an audio-format way-finding system that enables guests with low vision or orientation challenges to navigate the venue independently using their smartphones.
RightHear's technology is deployed throughout Sports Illustrated Stadium, providing guests with real-time audio information about their surroundings. Using the free RightHear mobile app — available on iOS and Android — visitors can identify their current location, receive descriptions of nearby points of interest, and access directions to key areas of the stadium including entrances, restrooms, concession stands, elevators, and seating sections. Audio information begins playing automatically upon arrival near the stadium entrance.
Fans can also access RightHear through the official Red Bull New York app.
RightHear's platform supports content delivery in multiple languages, enabling the stadium to serve fans who are not native English speakers in their preferred language. For a venue that draws supporters from across the New York metropolitan area and beyond, the multilingual functionality extends the reach of the wayfinding system to a broader cross-section of the gameday audience.
The system is powered by Accessibility Spots, small, sensors installed at key locations throughout the facility, that detect nearby app users and deliver relevant, location-specific audio content in real time.
"Sports Illustrated Stadium is a gathering place for our entire community, and that means everyone who walks through our gates deserves a seamless, confident experience from the moment they arrive,” Tonilynn McCaffery, Senior Manager of Field Marketing & Community at Red Bull New York said. “RightHear gives our guests who are blind, have low vision, or navigate spaces differently a real tool for independence as a genuine solution built into the fabric of the venue. That's the standard we want to hold ourselves to."
Sports Illustrated Stadium already offers a broad range of accessibility services for guests, including ADA-compliant seating and parking, captioning services on videoboards, assisted listening devices, elevator access on all levels, companion restrooms and the Altec Lansing Sensory Room for families affected by autism and sensory sensitivities. The addition of RightHear builds on that foundation with an independent navigation option for guests who are blind, have low vision or experience orientation challenges.
RightHear has been deployed at more than 2,400 venues worldwide since its founding in 2016, supporting users across 26 languages. The company pioneered the category of indoor orientation through audio-format signage — technology that converts physical environmental cues into auditory guidance.
“For decades, stadiums have been engineered for scale, speed, and spectacle but not for independent navigation,” Idan Meir, Co-Founder & CEO of RightHear said. “What’s changing now is a new layer of infrastructure where the environment itself can communicate in real time for people who are blind, have low vision, or navigate spaces differently. Partnerships like this are what make that shift real. When a venue like Sports Illustrated Stadium invests in this kind of experience, it goes well beyond minimum accessibility requirements and sets a new standard for what truly inclusive design can look like.”
Etihad Stadium to host North Stand Test Event
This landmark occasion forms part of the phased opening of the expansion, with a series of public and private test events designed to assess key operational elements of the facility.
Subject to the new areas successfully passing initial internal checks, the event on Wednesday, 20th May, will operate at 50% of the additional seating capacity, allowing more than 3,500 fans to attend.
Should the test event be successful, the next phase will see City trial 100% capacity at the final Premier League home match of the season against Aston Villa. Hospitality areas, the fan zone and the wider Medlock Square development will open later in 2026.
Commenting on the first public event in the expanded North Stand, Danny Wilson, Managing Director – Manchester City Operations, said: “After years of planning and construction, we’re getting close to using the expanded general admission seating section of the North Stand – a significant moment in the history of this Club that will see us break the Etihad Stadium’s record matchday attendance.
“Our aim has always been to open the new general admission seating before the end of the 2025/26 season. To do this, we must host a number of test events, with the evening of entertainment on Wednesday 20th playing a vital role. We hope more than 3,500 fans will join us, enjoy the evening with friends and family, and be the first to experience the expanded North Stand.”
AMPYR joins Manchester City as Official Supplier
AMPYR Distributed Energy (ADE) has joined Manchester City as an Official Supplier and the Onsite Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) Funder, reflecting its role in supporting the funding, operation, and maintenance of onsite renewable energy solutions at the City Football Academy (CFA).
Through this collaboration, ADE has delivered Phase One of a significant solar installation across the Club’s training facilities and at the Joie Stadium, home to Manchester City Women.
The installation includes over 5,000 solar panels across multiple rooftops, generating clean electricity. This work has been designed to integrate seamlessly across the campus, as the Club continues its commitment to sustainability, with a focus on increasing the use of renewable energy resources.
John Behan, CEO of ADE, said: “Manchester City is setting the standard for how leading organisations approach sustainability in practice. Our role as an Official Supplier reflects the work delivered to date and the responsibility we take on in operating this infrastructure for the long term.
“This is about turning ambition into real, operational infrastructure – delivering clean energy solutions that perform day in, day out. We’re proud to be supporting Manchester City as they continue to progress towards their long-term sustainability goals.”