Introducing Sportium

Redefining Sports in the Metaverse

Published in

Sportium_Fan

6 min readJul 17, 2021

Sports remain one of the great unifiers in an increasingly divided world. They bridge the gaps between societies and nations as people come together to support their favorite teams.

Sports fans are all around us. Prior to Covid-19, it would be a regular weekend occurrence to see baseball fans on the subway going to the stadium with various jerseys, hats, and other team paraphernalia. International fixtures invoke a sense of national pride as everyone enthusiastically cheers for their own country as ‘one team’.

Zooming out, what makes people cheer for and feel connected to players who are virtual strangers? At the same time, why do people spend their money on expensive jerseys?

In this article, we will explore why and how we become sports fans as we introduce Sportium, a groundbreaking multi sports platform that aims to deliver an immersive metaverse experience for passionate sports fans.

Journey of a Sports Fan

A passion for sports usually develops in our formative years, as we are encouraged to participate in school. From there, a favorite sport is a natural progression that stays with us for a lifetime.

As we continue to watch sports, we build connections to certain teams and players. And when that attachment increases a certain threshold, fans tend to show their support for their favored players by collecting YouTube video clips of their favorite match moments and purchasing endorsed merchandise like uniforms, sports equipment, etc. More diehard fans collect player cards and when they truly start living the game and analyzing teams and outcomes, they engage in sports betting.

However, all these experiences are fragmented with no common platform where fans can build communities around their favorite sports icons while continuing to pursue their passion for collectibles.

The market for Licensed Sports Merchandise was estimated at $34.4B in 2020 despite being suppressed by the pandemic and is expected to grow to $50B by 2027. According to Verified Market Research, the Global Sports Trading Card Market was valued at $13.8B in 2019.

Sports Betting dwarfs both these markets with global revenue of $203B in 2020 according to Statista. With the Metaverse and NFTs gaining momentum, we believe that the right platform can build a community of passionate sports fans and capture a substantial market share. The time is ripe for a universal platform for sports fans to enjoy an immersive experience.

Sportium : Multi-Sports Fan Platform

Officially Licensed Digital Collectibles / Metaverse Sports Fan Platform

We now introduce Sportium, a Multi-sports platform for sports enthusiasts. Sportium aims to provide an all-in-one experience platform for sports. The following is our vision for how a Sportium user could interact with various facets of the platform:

“I am a Sportium user.
Today, I choose to watch sports at home. I navigate over to sportium.fan and pick a sports broadcast. After logging in with my Torus wallet, I’m able to watch and enjoy my games while also being able to chat with other fans for a shared experience.
During the game, one of the players scores a breathtaking goal. A slow-motion replay pops up on the screen showing me a modal with details of an NFT collectible showcasing the moment. With one click, I will be informed once it’s live and can join the auction.

I really like the jersey and cleats that my favorite player is wearing. Great! I can purchase an identical licensed version, right from within the dapp.
After the match, I decide to place a bet on the next match based on my observations and analysis.
I have a profile page where I can see all the NFT moment collectibles I own.
With my NFTs, I can earn yield by lending them out, access fantasy sports leagues, and play PvP-style games in my leisure time.“

Sportium Roadmap

When it comes to sports NFTs we believe that Intellectual Property (IP) rights will be a key differentiator when it comes to preserving long-term value. Officially endorsed NFTs are sure to command a premium.

We are excited to announce that Sportium has successfully secured exclusive partnerships with the K-league (Korean Football League), KPBPA (Korea Professional Baseball Players Association, KPBAA (Korea Pro Baseball Players Alumni Association), and KBL(Korean Basketball League).

We plan to add many more IPs to the Sportium ecosystem as we gradually expand our global footprint. Each IP/brand will have independent NFT applications under the Sportium umbrella, which will utilize $SPRT tokens to amplify engagement with gamification.

Phase 1. (2021 Q4)

PFP Drop — November 2021
Launch of the first Sports NFT platform powered by SPORTIUM.

Sportium will shortly announce the first sports content NFTs which will be joining the ecosystem. The announcement will be made in Discord prior to being shared on social channels.

Our Discord & Twitter are now live!

Come join us to learn more about our upcoming launch!

2. PFP Drop

3. Pre-Sale Auction

Right after revealing our first sports content, early community members will be able to participate in an auction to purchase one of our first moment NFTs!

More details will follow soon. Until then, this teaser will have to suffice :)

4. Lootbox mechanics enabled

NFT holders will be able to use their lower-tier cards in games of chance inspired by Japanese Gacha mechanics, which are loot boxes in popular games like League of Legends. For example, a user may wish to risk 3 cards for the chance to obtain a rare or special edition card.

Sportium will charge a fee in $SPRT tokens for each roll with the funds collected being redistributed and used for further platform development.

Phase 2. (2022 Q1 — Q2)

Grants Program

Grants program for 3rd party developers to integrate Sportium assets into new games/dapps and infrastructure tools. In addition, grants will be offered for marketing and ecosystem growth.

2. Expanding Sportium ecosystem

Phase 3. (2022 Q3)

Live Zap Auctions

A unique feature of Sportium will be the ability for users to join an auction for special moment NFTs in real-time. Looking back at our goal example above, users who are logged in and watching the game will get priority access to the NFT minted for that goal. This is different from purchasing NFT packs from the marketplace, as the user knows exactly what he or she is bidding on, removing the element of chance.

2. E-Commerce

We will have partnerships with authorized retailers of sports apparel and equipment to enable purchases from within the dapp. The platform will charge a commission on all sales, thereby accruing further value to the ecosystem.