There are many different opportunities for serious games, 3D simulations and sports industry to work together. This is true for athletes, sports fans, ticket sellers, sports venues and definitely for sports marketers. Although not widely used traditionally in these markets, more and more professionals within the sports industry are waking up to the many marketing and educational opportunities that 3D simulations and serious games can provide.

Training for Athletes

While athletes at the professional level may be gifted physically, they often struggle with the sudden increase in funds that they have when they go pro. The news is full of situations where these stars invest their money without understanding, make bad purchases and generally manage to blow through their paycheck without any savings for a rainy day.

One option to provide support for these athletes in an area that has not likely been a focus in their life is to provide a 3D simulation or serious game that allows them to learn about solid financial management. This simulation would allow them to experience researching and evaluating investments, savings and financial plans in a fun yet very realistic way. They would learn about real life financial concerns without having to make the costly and public mistakes that end up in the newspaper each day. As a matter of fact we actually have a simulation that is free for anyone to use at http://www.findfinancialfreedom.org that will give you a great idea of just how powerful this learning tool will be.

Fans and Tickets

If you are a sports fan you know how frustrating it is to try to look at a flat 2D map and decide if the seats you are choosing are a good deal for the price you are paying. Imagine instead how much easier it would be if you were able to actually walk through the stadium and look at the field from the various seating areas. This would also allow fans to map their way to their seats and to see where other venues including food venders, restrooms and entertainment areas were located within the stadium or facility. Having a 3D virtual world of the stadium or facility will help to boost ticket sales and definitely provide an additional feature other ticket sellers don’t offer. Imagine, as a fan, that you would never have to get to your seat to find you are located behind a support beam or have a limited view of the stage, playing field or action. This alone would make it well worth your while to work with a ticket vendor that had 3D virtual worlds of the various sports or entertainment venues.

Planning and Vision

Team owners, organizations and even public planners can definitely benefit from the use of 3D virtual worlds to help investors and the general public preview planned new facilities. The benefit of being able to take a 3D virtual tour of a new concept for a stadium or sports complex is definitely a selling point. Fans can get onboard with the concept and investors will be able to immediately see just what their investment will produce.

City planners can use the same type of virtual world to determine how a new sports venue will impact traffic flow, surrounding neighborhoods and even how pedestrians will get to and from public transportation hubs to the game or event. Since actually being able to experience the traffic flow in a simulation is so much more relevant than reading data off a spreadsheet there are untold possibilities for use.

At Designing Digitally, Inc. our trained and experienced staff can help you determine just how 3D virtual worlds, simulations and serious games can meet your needs, regardless of your role within the sporting industry.