The Minnesota Vikings’ home, U.S. Bank Stadium, can seat exactly 66,655 fans. That might sound like a gigantic number, but it’s actually in the bottom-third of all NFL stadiums. Knowing that the team’s following is much larger than that 66,655, the Vikings have come up with a new way of bringing fans “inside” the stadium. They are becoming the first NFL team to launch a VR application for Oculus.
In creating the app, the Vikings partnered with the Silicon Valley-based Zeality, which specializes in 360 VR and has previously partnered with the San Jose Sharks on an Oculus app.
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Downloadable in the Oculus store (compatible with Oculus Rift and Gear VR), Vikings VR allows the user to explore U.S. Bank Stadium through 360-degree video and pictures. Footage from every home game played since the stadium’s opening in 2016 is available in the app.
“Virtual reality and 360 content is very important to our organization,” said Scott Kegley, Vikings Executive Director of Digital Media and Innovation, in a statement. “We understand only a small percentage of our large fan base is able to attend a Vikings game or event. We want to bring experiences to them, and immersive technology is allowing us to do that.”
Said Zeality co-Founder and CEO Dipak M. Patel in a statement: “The Vikings are not only innovating new ways of creating content using immersive media, they are also one of the leaders in delivering these experiences to their fans.”
The Vikings use of VR is well-documented as it was also used to help get quarterback Teddy Bridgewater up to speed while he recovered from a gruesome injury.