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Manchester United Sends Old Trafford Tour Visitors to Mars in a Football Club VR Attraction

Visitors wearing VR headsets in a football club VR attraction inside a stadium museum, lit by a Mars-red screen

Manchester United launched the Red Planet Immersive Experience at the Old Trafford Tour & Museum on 28 August 2026. Guests wear VR headsets the club says are powered by the latest Snapdragon technology. The mission is to establish a Manchester United community on Mars. It ends with a landing on the pitch at a full Old Trafford. Tickets are on sale through the Old Trafford Tour & Museum, and the club has set a minimum age of eight.

Manchester United is the second Premier League club to open a stadium-tour VR attraction. The VR Collective reported on 21 August that Chelsea Football Club will open Mission: Into The Blue, a virtual-reality experience at Stamford Bridge, in summer 2026.

What the club published about the Old Trafford VR attraction

Manchester United is selling Red Planet to families, fans and tourists visiting what it calls the Theatre of Dreams. The club’s announcement carries the credit line “Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries”.

The club has not named the studio that built the experience. It has published no price, no session length and no capacity. It has not said whether Red Planet is sold with a tour ticket or on its own.

Snapdragon sponsors the shirt and powers the headsets

Snapdragon has been Manchester United’s front-of-shirt partner since the start of the 2024/25 season, and Qualcomm Technologies extended the deal through 2028-29. Snapdragon chips run in the standalone headsets used across location-based VR, including the Meta Quest 3 and the PICO 4 Ultra Enterprise.

Manchester City has sold a VR attraction on its tour since July 2025

Manchester City added Beyond the Blue Moon to its Etihad Stadium tour in July 2025. It was the first Premier League club to do so, blooloop reported. Manchester City’s tours page prices it at £12 in advance or £15 on the day. Beyond the Blue Moon bars children under seven and requires an adult with children aged seven to ten. Manchester City sells it only alongside a tour ticket.

None of the three clubs has named the studio that built its experience. Bstadium, a Seville company that produces stadium VR experiences, lists Chelsea among its clients, according to The VR Collective’s 21 August report.

Cooney on how club-venue VR deals are structured

“This is a growing market segment with high levels of content-audience fit and built-in traffic, so customer acquisition cost is built into the revenue share with the stadium. CAC is the biggest unknown for LBE XR, so when it’s built into the rental deal, the business becomes predictable and financeable,” said Bob Cooney, a VR consultant and executive director of LEXRA, the trade association for location-based XR, who has led go-to-market for 16 startups. Cooney publishes The VR Collective.

Cooney was describing how these deals are structured across the segment. Manchester United has not published who paid for Red Planet or how its takings are split.

What this means for venue operators, VR studios and clubs

For venue operators, Manchester City’s £12 advance and £15 on the day is the only published price of the three. For VR studios, the buyer in all three cases is a club’s own tour business rather than a standalone venue operator. For clubs setting age policy, Manchester United’s floor is eight, while Manchester City bars under-sevens.

FAQ

What is the Red Planet Immersive Experience at Old Trafford? A VR attraction that opened at the Old Trafford Tour & Museum on 28 August 2026. Guests take a mission to establish a Manchester United community on Mars and finish by landing on the pitch at a full Old Trafford.

What is the minimum age for the Old Trafford VR attraction? Eight, according to Manchester United. Manchester City’s comparable experience at the Etihad bars children under seven and requires an adult with children aged seven to ten.

Which football clubs have a VR attraction on their stadium tour? Manchester City since July 2025 and Manchester United since 28 August 2026. Chelsea will open Mission: Into The Blue at Stamford Bridge in summer 2026.

How much does a football club VR attraction cost to visit? Manchester United has not published a price. Manchester City charges £12 in advance or £15 on the day as an add-on to its stadium tour.

Who built Manchester United’s Red Planet Immersive Experience? The club has not said. Its announcement names only Snapdragon, Manchester United’s front-of-shirt partner and a product of Qualcomm Technologies. Manchester City has not named a builder either.

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