Skybox utilizes the newest in telepresence and virtual reality technology to give sports fans a luxury experience without the luxury price tag, and give sports stadiums the convenience of flexible seating for additional capacity.
|| Overview
There are a total of 4,849 executive boxes across all 32 teams in the NFL. The season ownership price of one of those luxury suites averages $164,600. And despite this seemingly exorbitant cost, there's a waiting list to get one. The NFL has enjoyed the success of selling out many of their stadiums from season ticket sales alone. Out of the 32 teams in the league, 24 claim to have waiting lists as large as 150,000 fans. For some sports zealots, this means a wait not just of years, but decades. There is clearly a surplus demand for tickets.
What if we could extend stadium seating capacities, without the cost of renovations or rebuilding? What if we could increase the supply of luxury boxes, to help relieve some pressure from the waiting list? Skybox allows us to do just that, by putting the luxury suite experience into a mobile trailer that can be delivered to stadiums. With Skybox, stadiums benefit from additional ticket sales without renovation, and fans benefit from ticket availability and a new engaging experience.
One revolution changes everything.
|| Opportunity
Through extensive secondary research, we discovered many significant trends in the professional sports industries. Firstly, the customers tend towards fanaticism, where a small percentage of the total customer base represents a majority percentage of total spending. Secondly, the tickets and stadium sales make-up one of the largest revenue sources for teams and team ownership. Of all game-day sales, luxury boxes are the best profit generator, due to their incredibly high price and high margins. Because of this, many stadiums are being undergoing expensive and labor intensive renovations specifically to accommodate a larger number of luxury suites.
The average season price of a luxury box in the NFL is $165,000. And despite this high cost, there are long waiting lists. If each NFL stadium added just one more luxury box, overall league revenues would increase $5 million dollars.
"Luxury suites have been growing in importance since the 1990s and are an essential part of any new stadium being built. In fact, most new stadiums are built not because they are physically obsolete, but they are financially obsolete." - Emily Sparvero, professor at the Sports Industry Research Center at Temple University
“Chairs are left unclaimed and unusable during peak hours”
|| Solution
Skybox lets stadiums easily and flexibly increase seating capacities with mobile luxury suites. Skybox uses the latest in telepresence technology to bring the live-game luxury suite experience outside of the stadium walls. Skybox is a mobile trailer that can be delivered to stadiums when extra seating is desired, and quickly removed afterwards.
A spherical 3D camera mounted at the luxury level in the midpoint of the stadium captures stunning 3D video of the live game. The footage is broadcasted over a closed circuit to domed auto-stereoscopic 3D displays in each Skybox trailer. Fans that could not get tickets or can not afford the standard luxury suites can now enjoy a discounted but just as enjoyable experience in the Skybox mobile suite. And some may prefer the experience, as a fun and easy way to host parties or large group outings.
“A Revo chair will never be seen as unusable to a Starbucks customer”
|| User Experience
Skybox brings the authentic luxury suite experience to more fans. The Skybox product is a luxury suite on wheels. The whole set-up fits into a shipping container and can be hauled by a standard pick-up truck. Clever space-saving design and pop-out walls ensure that the interior feels like the real luxury suite experience.
A portion of the sketching process, starting with broad furniture concepts, and narrowing towards the Revo's final functionality and design
