With the help of augmented reality, Tampa Bay Lightning fans could witness Martin St. Louis’ jersey retirement ceremony from Friday as if they were inside Amalie Arena.
On Sunday, St. Louis took out a full-page advertisement in the Tampa Bay Times, a local newspaper that has 475,000 subscribers. Through a Lightning partnership with local company VidPic AR, fans could download the VidPic App and highlight over the newspaper image of St. Louis to see the No. 26 jersey being raised to the rafters.
It is believed to be the first technology integration of its kind, tying together an augmented reality experience with a jersey retirement in sports.
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“We’re always looking for new ways to engage our fans,” said Eric Blankenship, Vice President of Marketing for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a statement. “This augmented reality initiative allowed our fans to experience a very special night in a different way. Just as important, it gave potential non-fans a chance to see what they missed.”
Along with viewing the jersey ceremony in print, fans could also point at the advertisement on laptop and desktop devices.
At the end of 2016, about 10 professionals from the virtual and augmented reality industry weighed in to discuss the biggest trends in sports that they’d be following over the next 12 months. A constant theme was the emphasis on AR and could it make a break through, similar to what virtual reality had done during the last calendar year? We’re already seeing it, as teams like the Lightning and Seattle Seahawks are weaving it into their digital marketing strategy.
“The biggest trend that I will keep an eye on is how many people start to design and create augmented reality experiences compared to virtual reality experiences. Each are fascinating technologies with their own unique value propositions, and I think we are at an exciting inflection point where augmented reality starts to really gain some steam,” commented Brendan Reilly, Chief Executive Officer of EON Sports VR.