The best sports entertainment venues combine cool technology and premium food and beverage offerings with the social experiences we all crave. Conversely, some of the concepts feel a little unbalanced: While their specific gameplay tech is fun and impressive, their brick-and-mortar locations sometimes feel underpowered or uninspired.
Four tips for using architecture, engineering and interior design to raise your game in all dimensions of the sports entertainment experience.
Emphasize the social element
Based on the optimistic predictions of a few years ago, we should all be living in the Metaverse by now. Instead, entertainment concepts that offer in-person, tactile experiences—often augmented reality (AR), to be sure, or other simulation technologies like golf clubs, pickleballs, baseball bats, and the like—are growing in popularity.
In other words, technology is important, but the priority should be face-to-face human interaction in well-designed indoor environments, not pixelated immersion for its own sake.
Operators should never neglect physical spaces that include and record traditional and simulated gaming components. Ideally, these experiences will have a healthy social dimension. Imagine the difference between walking into a room alone to play AR tennis and having your kids watching, laughing and cheering you on doing their best Novak Djokovic impression.
What is the journey like before, during and after this AR experience? Will guests hear cheers and high fives after finishing the game, or will they find themselves in an empty room staring at blank walls or walking down a lonely hallway to get back to their friends?
The physical spaces where technical interaction takes place must be developed, showcased, and feel well integrated into the overall social experience. If the visual environment suggests a natural next step with a social component, you’re on the right track – for example, sitting down with friends to have a drink or break some dough and relive what happened.
Conserve energy
The Home Run Dugout in Katy, Texas offers a mix of 22 simulated batting bays, a restaurant, two bars, a large outdoor patio, a beer garden, live music and a baseball field. Batting bays are about 20 feet away from batting canvases with spatial imagery projected onto them (you can make it out at Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, or even classics like Field of Dreams from the 1989 movie).
The Home Run Dugout could place these dugouts away from the bar and restaurant. Instead, the design team suggested placing bays around the main bar. The practical effect was to raise the energy level in this critical, revenue-generating part of the building. Even non-players out to eat and drink with friends can feel the energy and excitement that sluggers create in the bays. They may even be tempted to take a few swings themselves.
All that said, gaming should never interfere with the eating, drinking and socializing experience of people nearby. Architects can use distance, sound dampeners, and partial visual barriers to keep things in balance. It is also important that each experience has its own integrity. The Home Run Dugout’s main bar area has an upscale interior design and decor, as opposed to an afterthought feel adorned with standard baseball memorabilia.
Consider the operational side
Operational concerns can also affect the spaces that house and surround sports simulation and AR systems. Architects and engineers can help design sports-entertainment concepts and configure these spaces to maximize safety and efficiency, along with ease of maintenance and maintenance. For example, advanced simulation technologies often require intermediate distribution frame cabinets or rooms—basically metal racks filled with cables that connect to end-user devices and other parts of the system—and/or separate spaces that house servers. Some systems are cabled, while others are broadcast.
Regardless of technical requirements, the goal should be to find secure locations that are easily accessible to IT and maintenance staff, allow equipment to operate at maximum capacity, and never disturb guests.
VR comes with some distinct concerns. If you’ve ever seen a blindfolded child fall on a piñata, you’ve sensed the potential safety issues. Guests wearing the headset should be able to walk around swinging a “light saber” or fighting a VR version of Muhammad Ali without hitting walls, falling, or accidentally hurting others. Designers can help you choose lighting levels, materials, and space plans that maximize water immersion while maintaining safety.
Serve all your bosses
Not long ago, some entertainment concepts zeroed in on narrow demographic profiles – “Our sweet spot is young singles between the ages of 21 and 33 with significant disposable income.” Today, their goal is to create satisfying experiences for their wider patrons.
Early in the planning process, designers can work with sports-entertainment companies to focus on the needs of specific patron profiles. Yes, this can include die-hard sports fans and gamers, but grandparents can also be part of the mix. Where will the grandparents sit? What will they do? Will it be easy for them to find a family toilet and keep an eye on their grandchildren?
In general, older adults tend to patronize businesses more in the morning or evening. By adjusting volume, lighting, and music based on the time of day, you can cater to the needs of different demographics.
At the same time, it is not necessary to turn the concept into a “family entertainment center”. Staying true to your core identity may mean saying no to playgrounds, cartoons, or other opportunities that conflict with your aesthetic and vision. Local baseball fans love the ballpark at the Home Run Dugout, but with non-gamers in mind as well, the design team created a semi-air conditioned beer garden that has become a neighborhood hotspot. Not everyone who comes to your venue is doing it to power up acid balls or penalty kicks in a simulated World Cup final.
Play the long game by making sure your customers have a satisfying, well-rounded experience that will keep them coming back for years to come.