Silicon Valley technology company Xperiel -- whose financial backers include the NBA Sacramento Kings -- is bringing virtual reality to the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament being held this weekend at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
The tournament features int'l men’s and women’s rugby teams, with 100,000 fans expected to attend. It is the first time the World Cup Sevens has been held on U.S. soil.
Xperiel will bring a virtual twist to fan experiences and some augmented reality to the games.
“We took the jumbotron and turned it into the t-shirt cannon. If you catch a virtual t-shirt you win a regular one," Xperiel CEO Alex Hertel said.
Fans can play the AR game via the official app for the rugby tournament.
Hertel, who was a computer scientist and inventor at Google before starting Xperiel, said that the effort is just one example of making sporting events more appealing to younger fans.
Xperiel has also done interactive and predictive gaming promotions for the Kings as well as the NFL N.Y. Jets. Predictive gaming allows fans to bet and win prizes or tickets during games on categories such as on who will score the next touchdown or score the most points in a quarter.
Hertel hopes the rugby event will help attract more int'l business.
Rugby World Cup GM Rosie Spaulding said that the Xperiel effort, along with some new camera angles for TV broadcasts and a new single-elimination format, are among the innovations for the U.S. tourney. Spaulding: "This is a new thing for us and this is something we’re very excited to showcase."
The tournament will start Friday and run through the weekend.
