FOS Explains: Inside Look at the Sports Stadiums of the Future

The future of live sports is changing.

Whether it's immersive fan villages, premium tailgate shacks, or in-stadium tech, new advancements are elevating the fan experience and bringing people closer to the action than ever before.

We dove into how high-tech features, interactive fan zones, and virtual reality experiences are creating an unforgettable atmosphere inside and outside stadiums.

Change is never easy. But for fans attending their first event at the Intuit Dome, there is no choice but to embrace it.?

Everything about the fan experience at the Clippers’ new $2 billion arena is new—from the facial recognition used to buy concessions, to The Wall, a 4,500-seat area exclusive to Clippers fans.

Front Office Sports spoke to several people who attended the Clippers' home opener against the Suns—from diehard Clippers fans to visiting Suns fans—to get real-time reactions to the experience at the NBA’s newest stadium.

The Intuit Dome's New Technology

It’s nearly impossible to function around the arena without downloading the “LA Clippers + Intuit Dome” mobile app. This is where fans can scan their face to enter concessions areas and team stores, and also input their payment information to be automatically charged upon exiting those areas.

“It’s a little bit of a hassle,” said Akhil Chopra, who was visiting L.A. from Chicago. “It’s not like we’re super [techy] here.”

Ryan Q., a Suns fan living just outside Los Angeles, said he thinks the features are “cool” but said he believes his parents would struggle.

“I’d have to teach them how to do everything,” Ryan Q. told FOS.

However, both Chopra and Ryan Q. believe the features should get better as time goes along and fans adjust to the nuances. Chopra said the arena’s other tech innovations were “awesome.”

“The activities and all that stuff, they don’t do this in Chicago. … [The Intuit Dome] is a beautiful stadium.” - Akhil Chopra

But the live sports experience is changing outside of venues themselves too.

Would You Pay For Front-Row Seats—On an 87-Foot Sphere?

Cosm, a new domed, immersive venue company that opened its first pair of three-story, 65,000-square-foot locations this summer after raising $250 million, and it is quickly gaining popularity thanks to its ability to make fans feel like they’re in the front row of a stadium that’s thousands of miles away.

Throughout the fall, scenes from Cosm have set social media on fire.

Cosm pays broadcasters like Fox Sports—which just signed a two-year deal to put select college football and basketball games in the “shared reality” space—an undisclosed rights fee to license game content and charges its guests expensive fees for the premium experience.

The company has two locations open in the U.S. and two more already on the way.

It hopes to launch 10 venues by 2026—and 50 by 2034.

Apple Looks to Upend Sports Watching

Apple also has its sights set on changing how people experience sports and gaming.

Last year, the tech giant unveiled its long-awaited mixed-reality headset, Apple Vision Pro, which is now available for $3,499.

The device includes numerous features like multiview broadcasts, immersive replays, and gaming displays. The company has been developing a multiview feature for Apple TV+ that allows users to watch multiple streams at once.

It also has a dial that allows users to switch between virtual reality, in which one is fully immersed in the Vision Pro’s displays, and augmented reality, which allows one to see displays overlaid on the world around them.

Is the evolution of the fan experience headed in the right direction? Let us know what you think.

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