Screenshot from inside the virtual NRG Statium
Screenshot from inside the virtual NRG Stadium

With tickets to games and concerts sometimes costing $200 or more, knowing what kind of view you’re paying for can help you decide if the tickets are actually worth it. But a new feature in the StubHub app puts you in your seat, virtually, before hitting the buy button.

StubHub is offering a virtual view from any seat in the house, starting with tickets to the Final Four at NRG Stadium. Users can view their seats in StubHub’s Android and iOS apps, either using a VR headset like Google Cardboard or by just rotating their phone around them.

Stubhub VR AT&T Park
A virtual view of AT&T Park. Think you can make out the score from these seats?

“There maps are kind of unique to each venue,” said Marcus Shelksohn, StubHub’s head of product for mobile apps. “The value we see in this is for users to be able to really get the immersive view of what their seat will look like prior to purchasing.”

Virtually reproducing any seat in the house is a step up from the static pictures StubHub currently has available at many venues. Now, users can see if they’re under an overhang, close to the section entrance or car see the scoreboard while looking around in VR.

StubHub can even show different setups of the arena. For example, during the Final Four NRG Stadium will have seats crowded around the basketball court. But when it’s time for the Houston Texans to play, the seating setup is much different. And if there’s a stage set up for a concert, many of the seats are blocked off and some have only a partial view of the stage. With VR, all StubHub has to do is change a few files to reflect the new setup.

Right now, the VR views are only available at NRG Stadium and AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. But StubHub said more arenas and stadiums are coming soon. The rollout will start with baseball stadiums as the MLB season takes off, but StubHub hopes to expand to other seated venues soon.

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