5G Stadium
Read the story- Brand
- Verizon
- Year
- 2021
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Tech & Telecom
- Mechanic
- Racing & Sports
- Platform
- In-Game
Objective
Super Bowl LV took place in a pandemic year, with the stands nearly empty and the usual on-site sponsor activations off the table. Verizon needed a way to keep its presence around America's biggest sporting event and give fans a way to "show up" from anywhere, while also proving what its 5G Ultra Wideband network could do for gamers and reinforcing its status as the NFL's official 5G partner.
Solution
Players land in a Fortnite Creative hub built as a stylized version of Raymond James Stadium, complete with palm trees, waterfalls, and a pirate ship hanging over the field. Up to 50 people share the lobby at once, running through the stands, locker rooms, and merch shop before picking one of five stadium versions, each tied to its own weapon-free mini-game — from a hoverboard race to other NFL-designed challenges. During two evening livestreams on Twitch and Twitter, streamers and NFL players competed in those same modes, and footballers occasionally dropped into the map as their own avatars for surprise meet-and-greets with fans on the map.
Results
Verizon 5G Stadium drew more than 40 million visits during its nine days live (Feb 1–9, 2021), including 40 million players recorded in the week before Super Bowl LV, and the accompanying livestream tournament with NFL players and content creators was watched by 3 million people.
- 1
Players enter by opening Fortnite Creative mode: from February 1–9, 2021 the Verizon 5G Stadium ran as an official featured hub, so anyone browsing Creative mode lands there without an island code, while separate stand-alone versions are also reachable by code.
- 2
Players spawn in a recreation of Raymond James Stadium blended with Fortnite's Tampa setting — palm trees, waterfalls, rock formations, and a pirate ship suspended over the field — with Verizon and NFL logos built from blocks, sharing the space with up to 50 other players in a social lobby.
- 3
Players roam the stadium's normally restricted areas on foot, including the merchandise shop, locker rooms, luxury suites, and a trophy room.
- 4
From the hub, players branch into five separate stadium versions, each built around a distinct minigame co-designed with NFL players; none of the modes include weapons, and all are built around movement and platforming skill.
- 5
One mode is a timed hoverboard race along a course laid out through the stadium, where players compete against others for the fastest lap.
- 6
Another mode is a deathrun obstacle course that tests precision jumping through a sequence of sections, sending players back to the last checkpoint on a fall.
- 7
A third mode, Stadium Scramble (island code 5926-8650-7282), turns the venue into a search-and-find quest where players explore the suites, trophy room, and locker rooms to locate 13 hidden items.
- 8
During sessions, real NFL players — including DeAndre Hopkins and JuJu Smith-Schuster — appear in the lobby as avatars for impromptu meet-and-greets with fans.
- 9
Players who don't join in Fortnite can watch instead: on February 2 and 5, 2021 at 7pm ET, Twitch and Twitter livestreams showed streamers Myth and KittyPlays playing the stadium's modes alongside six NFL players.
