Wrexham set for groundbreaking 'shared reality' fixture
- Published
Wrexham will break new ground when they take on Barnsley on Tuesday with a trailblazing new fan experience – 5,000 miles away from the Racecourse.
The League One game against the Tykes is set to see another bumper crowd in north Wales as Phil Parkinson’s side look to continue their impressive League One home form.
But it will also see fans – including co-chairman Rob McElhenney - flock to a new ‘shared reality’ experience in Los Angeles to watch the game in a way far beyond watching from the local pub.
The fixture is the first EFL game to be screened at Cosm with it is 180 degree domed screen – 87 foot in diameter - that makes viewers feel as if they are pitchside.
Images from fans watching Manchester United in Premier League action on the immersive technology that simulates being at the ground went viral on social media earlier in the season.
And with baseball and NFL games having also been popular, Wrexham have been handpicked as the first from the EFL to be given the hi-tech treatment.
The EFL have backed the plans that sees "several discreet 8K cameras" placed around the Racecourse "to capture all angles, with no interruption to the regular production output."
It explains that that footage is then "stitched together to create the unique wide-angle effect that recreates being in the ground itself."
McElhenney promoted the event for the game against Barnsley, with his co-stars from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia also due to attend for the game that kicks-off at 19.45 GMT but 11.45 on America’s west coast.
US Wrexham fans will pay $11 for access at the venue that is close to the Los Angeles Rams' SoFi Stadium, one of the grounds that will be used at the 2026 World Cup.
It is the first of six EFL games that have been given permission to be screened in this way, with Wrexham’s ‘Hollywood derby’ against Tom Brady-backed Birmingham City on 23 January and the clash at Huddersfield Town on 4 March also selected.