It is often said that “my home is my castle” - a reference to the importance and sentimentality we feel for our homes – yet the dedicated HSV fan might be heard to say “my home is my stadium”, such is the bond they have towards their football club and its sacred home turf. So the initiative of HSV-UFA arena management to create a virtual representation of their real Hamburg stadium provides increased value to and strengthens the bond with their club fans and members. The virtual stadium is powered by the visualisation technology of Bitmanagement Software GmbH (based in Berg, near Munich), and was developed by online marketing agency Vhaus GmbH in photo-realistic 3D quality with many interactive events features.
Indeed, the highlight of the 3D application is its superb interactivity. Internet visitors to HSV's stadium can virtually walk or fly through the vast building and explore areas which are not usually accessible to the public. For example, one may visit the virtual HSV museum or enter the playing field through the players' tunnel and into the glare of the lights and roar of the crowd. Moreover, spectator boxes and rooms may be booked online and events arranged by an agency via the integration of booking systems and the 3D arena.
The real stadium and the virtual also mimic each other in terms of advertising potential. As with the real stadium, the club's sponsors and advertising partners can buy promotional space for advertisements and product presentations within the virtual world, thus HSV can now offer another quite unique platform and market demographic of tech-savvy football fans to the advertising industry.
Software supplier Bitmanagement is enthusiastic about the results. “To move, meet and converse within the virtual stadium creates a tangible emotional connection between HSV and its stakeholders, and we are proud that this project has been facilitated by our high-speed 3D software for the Internet“, says head of Bitmanagement Peter Schickel. “Bitmanagement's real-time 3D software enabled us to optimally meet the requirements of HSV with the building of the virtual arena and to set a new benchmark in terms of quality and simple operation”, expressed Vhaus managing director Johannis Niemeyer.