Now Sports Teams, Not Just Movies And Kids’ Shows, Are Inspiring Theme Park Development
April 15, 2024 by Dave Haynes
Digital signage and pro AV companies are always looking out for emerging sectors and the opportunities they might present, which is I why I am mentioning a new theme park built not around animated characters and toys, but a famous sports franchise.
There is now a theme park with rides and attractions celebrating the football (soccer) club RealMadrid … in Dubai. It opened last week.
You can watch a rapid-cut highlights visit of the property here … These are physical attractions with roller-coasters and other rides, but these kinds of venues use a lot of AV for ebverything from nuts and bolts things like ticketing and announcements to experiential inside and around some of the attractions.
Real Madrid World is one of several attractions run by Dubai Parks and Resorts, including Lego-themed parks and a Downtown Disney-ish attraction called Riverland.
This is interesting because while Real Madrid is a huge sports team brand, there are several others like FC Barcelona, Manchester United, the NY Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, LA Lakers and even the Green Bay Packers that also have massive followings and allegiances that stretch across many generations of families. The NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers have a thematic tie-in with an area theme park, but it is just a section – like maybe a Paw Patrol thing for kids – in a more generally themed park.
Those teams tend to have things like paid tours of their stadiums and arenas, and splashy fan shops well away from those grounds. But you could certainly imagine just as much attraction for a ManU World as one for Real Madrid.
Very interested in learning more.
Steve Molaf CEO/President
S. Molaf & Associates