Major League Soccer has joined the ranks of pro leagues dabbling in virtual reality, testing the technology during a late regular-season match with designs on using it again in the future.
The league partnered for the test with NextVR at the Oct. 18 match between the LA Galaxy and Portland Timbers at StubHub Center. VR cameras were placed in a variety of locations, including behind the net, at midfield and along the touchline. Viewers of the test at the stadium, a group that included MLS and team executives, were able to control their viewpoints using VR headsets. Back at MLS headquarters in New York, NextVR set up a closed-circuit demo of the live action for other league staff and NextVR employees.
“We’re constantly looking at ways to be progressive and innovative, and bringing in technology to provide new ways to experience soccer,” said Seth Bacon, MLS senior vice president of media. “As part of our analysis of ‘What’s next?’ every person we talked to stressed how this technology is something that’s never been seen before from a fan standpoint.”
For the better part of a year, MLS had been discussing the idea with those in the VR space and potential vendors, Bacon said. While the league wanted to explore the technology, he said it also wanted to make sure it could also get a full sense of what VR might be able to offer the league.
“There’s inherent challenges in using VR in any sport, but soccer is unique: the size of the playing field, the massive open space and the continuous action,” Bacon said. “But that’s also part of the fun and excitement in doing a test like this.”
Participating in the test himself, Bacon said the footage was “eye-opening,” noting the unique vantage points that fans rarely get to see during live action, such as from the sideline during a contested throw-in. “It’s an unbelievable level of immersion,” he said.
MLS plans to create short-form video content with the footage from the game and make it available on its website. Bacon said the league also is in contact with its rights holders in regard to how virtual reality could be used or monetized down the road.
Beyond just watching live action via virtual reality, Bacon said the league is looking into how it could use the technology to provide different opportunities for fans, as well as perhaps involve league partners. For example, teams could offer a prospective season-ticket holder a true viewpoint of what they’d see from their seats at a game, or perhaps a virtual look into a team’s locker room that would be presented by a sponsor.
As for the next steps for the league, Bacon said that it would monitor the VR industry over the next 12 months or so to see where the technology is going, how quickly headsets continue to proliferate, and what its broadcast partners do to use the technology. He did not comment on when MLS might test the technology again.
MLS is the latest property to work with NextVR. Among the others that have are the NHL, NASCAR, International Champions Cup and the NBA, which broadcast the Golden State Warriors’ home opener and championship ring ceremony in the enhanced format late last month — in turn becoming the first league to offer broadly to the public a live-streamed version of a game in virtual reality.
In nearly every instance, the prevailing goal with the VR experimentation has been to offer the feeling of being inside a venue to fans around the world.
“We’re really excited for what this can mean for MLS fans,” said NextVR Executive Chairman Brad Allen. “There’s often a concern that if VR is so good, people aren’t going to want to go to a game, but if they see this footage, it’ll make them want to go even more.”
