Advancing the facilitation of social interaction and community engagement among American football enthusiasts through immersive metaverse platform

This study explores the development of an immersive virtual football stadium for Tulsa Union High School, Oklahoma, United States, in collaboration with the VAST (Virtual Reality | Augmented Reality | Simulation Technology Research) Lab at the University of Texas at Dallas, leveraging the metaverse platform Spatial.io to facilitate social interaction and community engagement. Collaborating with the school’s IT and Athletic Departments, the project aimed to create an online space for hosting virtual events and rebroadcasting Friday Night High School Football games. Due to constraints preventing the virtual representation of players on the field, the virtual space incorporates several interactive games and activities designed to engage users and foster a sense of community. Through features such as custom shaders, baked lighting, interactive minigames, and optimized object interactivity, the stadium was designed to provide a seamless and engaging experience for users. This research highlights the potential of metaverse platforms to replicate and enhance real-world social experiences, particularly in educational and community-focused contexts, addressing challenges in development and implementation to create a robust and accessible digital space.