When the Raiders decided to move to Vegas, they knew they had a monumental task ahead of them. They needed to celebrate a franchise with so much history, tradition, and identity rooted in Oakland, while also focusing on the sustainability and promise for the future in their new home. So how do you celebrate the history of the Raiders and introduce the team to an entire new city, community, and fan base? We decided to create a mixture of physical museum, innovative digital hype zone, and high end premium sales environment, with multiple touchpoints, in order to cater to all of the various journeys.
The preview center is situated in the heart of Town Square, right off historic Las Vegas Boulevard.
Floor-to-ceiling immersive video sets the stage for a dynamic experience in the preview center, as you travel through the entry vestibule. The Al Davis tribute meets all visitors through video and artifacts, setting the tone for the visit. Raiders memorabilia and artifacts immerse visitors into the rich history of the franchise. Categorized by great moments, great players, and great coaches.
The Raider Nation Interactive Wall provides an immersive and informative experience for visitors. Visitors can explore the player roster, and engage with important moments and stories that showcase a rich Raiders’ history in Oakland. The Holocube display is a fully integrated, 3D projection video platform that allows users to virtually explore stadium seating and premium spaces. Visitors have the opportunity to engage with the team and 'Join Raider Nation' by taking a photo at the photo booth and uploading to social media directly from the kiosks.
The stadium model is an exact replica of the new Raiders Stadium. The backdrop represents view of the Las Vegas strip from the stadium.
A timeline that displays the evolution of Las Vegas greets visitors on the second floor. A mock suite provides a view into Raiders stadium, featuring furniture, fixtures and premium amenities available at the new stadium. The Raiders' three super bowl trophies are displayed to make an impactful statement about the legacy of the franchise. The trophies are positioned just outside the closing rooms of the sales center.
An aggregated social media Wall provides fans the opportunity to provide content to the final exit of the preview center.
D.C. United created a state-of-the-art Audi Field Preview Center to showcase the new venue through a custom sales app and augmented reality. Fans, sponsors, partners, and media were be able to visit the Center and get excited about the new upcoming home for DC United.
Custom digital tools allowed visiting seat buyers to make the most educated seat selections after viewing the stadium and field views through the seat viewer app.
DC United was very careful to not showcase or promise further development on Buzzard Point, where the stadium is situated. For years, these types of projects had been promised, with no actual follow through. DC United instead wanted to tell a story of proximity. Visitors to Audi Field could do many things within a short walk, a Metro ride, or short drive. The Augmented Reality table showed attractions in the surrounding neighborhood, as well as the walking times to those locations and to the closest Metro stops. Local businesses with ties to the team and stadium were also highlighted.
The Wisconsin Sports and Entertainment Center (WESC) Preview Center, the original project name before Fiserv signed on as the naming rights partner, was located in the historic Schlitz Park Stock-House Building in downtown Milwaukee.
Spanning 13,000 square feet, the WESC Preview Center incorporated both static EGD elements and technology integration. The space not only incorporated all of the experiential elements needed to inform and close sponsorship and partnership deals, but a large bar area served as an event space as well. Along the largest wall in this space, we crafted an anthem to the city that spoke to the franchise’s commitment to its core fan base:
WE FEEL IT STIR IN THE QUIET POWER OF THE LAKE
RISING IN THE MISTY PLUMES FROM A THOUSAND STACKS
ECHOING ACROSS OUR HISTORY
REVERBERATING THROUGHOUT THIS AMBITIOUS CITY
ALL DREAMS ARE POSSIBLE HERE
The Preview Center contained an augmented reality tablet experience that showcased the new arena and surrounding neighborhood highlights on a white model table. There were also two mock suites that showed the finishes and luxury of the premium seating. At the front of each mock suite was a large projection screen that could mimic the view from every seat in the arena.
Just past the mock suites, there was a display case that contained Schlitz bottles that represent the number of suites that have been sold. They were taken down and presented to the suite buyer upon agreement. The bottles were replaced with a a custom cream brick, to both signify the sale and connect the experience back to Milwaukee, known as Cream City. Our client jokingly called it “the world’s most sophisticated inventory management system.”
Each conference room also had large interactive monitors that showcased the custom sales app we designed and built. The app allowed sales reps to create sales presentations in a custom CMS system, to be displayed on screen when clients came to visit. Alongside the presentations, arena info, a 3D model for interactive fly throughs, and the seat viewer were all accessible at the touch of a finger.
In 2014, I helped lead a team that created a masterplan of activations for the Hillsboro Hops, ranging from immediately possible to pie in the sky, "what if we could do anything" scenarios.
This interactive served as a community engagement piece that incorporated learning about the organization and the sport, as well as allowed visitors to check in and gain rewards for being loyal fans.
The interactive was designed to be employed in the concourse at the stadium, as well in a mobile community van that could be deployed to events such as little league tournaments and camps, farmer's markets, etc.
