You can experience almost anything in virtual reality. You can travel around the world. Even the Minnesota Vikings launched a virtual reality app with Oculus to engage with their fans and put them right in the middle of the action. The Vikings even incorporated into quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s rehabilitation process. Bridgewater suffered a gruesome and had not played in a game since the 2016 preseason. The had a totally different offense scheme, so to get practice reps while he was rehabbing, he utilized the team’s virtual reality system to stay up to date with the new offensive scheme.
Sports
College Football Playoff Payouts
As I was watching last Monday night’s College Football National Championship Game between Alabama and Georgia, I found myself wondering how much these schools and raking in financially from being in the game. After doing some research, I found out that the school doesn’t receive the financial windfall directly, as there was no additional compensation for the school competing in the national title game. Win or lose, Alabama and Georgia have already each earned $6 million for the respective conferences simply by playing in the the four-team College Football Playoff.
Minnesota Vikings Launch Virtual Reality App
Millions of people watch sporting events, especially the NFL. It is reported that in 2016, viewership averaged 16.5 million people watching each game. NFL stadiums have a seating capacity for a fraction of their fan base, for example, the Minnesota Vikings new stadium, U.S. Bank Stadium, can seat exactly 66,655 spectators. A big number, but it is only a fraction of their fan base. Teams understand this and are always looking for innovative ways to make the in-stadium experience more enjoyable. The Minnesota Vikings have come up with a new marketing tool to bringing fans “inside” the stadium, as they will become the first NFL team to launch a virtual reality (VR) application for Oculus.
Economic Impact of the National Championship Game in Atlanta
The College Football Playoff National Championship game won’t kick off until Monday night, and I have to say that ESPN has been the big winner of revenue with a lot of the bowl games on their network. Plus, the number of corporate sponsors and advertisers who paid millions of dollars to showcase their brand during college footballs biggest game. Outside of the Super Bowl, this has become one of the more prestigious sporting events. Not only that, the game will be huge in terms of economic impact for the city of Atlanta.
It has been reported that previous National Championship games have generated $100 million for the host cities. Even with this years’ National Championship game an essential home game for the University of Georgia, I don’t see why it wouldn’t generate that much for the City of Atlanta. This is a major event and big time event like this is great for cities to showcase themselves. This type of atmosphere has given Atlanta the opportunity to show off their city to people who have previously visited and encourage some people who haven’t been to Atlanta to visit.
The NBA Making Big eSports Push
The National Basketball Association are looking to stay ahead of the curve and tap into the exploding world of online gaming. Seventeen teams from the NBA will be part of the upcoming 2K League, a competition it created in partnership with the developer of the popular NBA 2K series. The new eSports league will kickoff its first season in May 2018. It’s a big deal for the gamers, and an innovative move by the NBA to expand its market.
Beginning in early 2018, gamers will start competing in “qualifiers” for a chance to be selected in early spring by the 17 NBA teams participating in the first-ever professional eSports league. Each team will be made up of five basketball gamers who will represent the NBA team. They’ll be official members of their respective organizations, which means they will get a contract and sponsorship deals, just like NBA players do.
Impact of NBA Playoff Games on a Community
The NBA playoffs have returned to Milwaukee and interest is through the roof for the Milwaukee Bucks right now. If you have been watching the Bucks this season you know this team is young, talented and very athletic, with the goal being championship caliber when new stadium is completed. The bucks returned home last night with the series tied at 1-1 with Toronto Raptors, they now lead the Raptors 2 games to 1, with game 4 in downtown Milwaukee on Saturday afternoon. All day yesterday you could feel a buzz in the city, even today after their resounding victory, you can feel the city alive. Tomorrow is going to be electric in downtown Milwaukee. But what is the impact of an NBA playoff game on a community? I did tweet to Visit Milwaukee but they did not have the numbers yet but when the NCAA March Madness games were in Milwaukee earlier this year, exceeded expectations and had a $6.6 million economic impact on Milwaukee. The impact a Bucks post-season run has on Milwaukee goes beyond financial.