Google is adding some pretty interesting imagery to its Google Maps service. Today, the company is announcing that it has partnered with the National Football League’s (NFL) Indianpolis Colts. Through this arrangement, Google Maps now offers users a VIP, 360-degree interactive tour of the team’s stadium, Lucas Oil Stadium.
It also marks the first NFL arena that the Maps team has ever documented in this way.
As part of its mission to create the most accurate and useable map of the world, Google decided to take it things a step further by recording what a professional football team’s stadium looked like. The company says that it has captured a variety of views, including allowing users to view what it’s like right on the football field, look at the VIP suites and concourses, and check out the locker rooms.
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Through the use of its Trekker camera, the Google Maps team was able to get a rather realistic view of what it’s like to be inside the stadium.
The idea of photographing the stadium was the search engine’s idea. The company says that when it decided to go after a stadium, it chose the Indianapolis Colts because the team was ahead of the game in terms of content and use of social media. Why it never chose the hometown team, the San Francisco 49ers, remains a mystery. But the results here show the Maps team’s commitment towards building a comprehensive, accurate, and usable map of the world.
Lucas Oil Stadium’s street view adds it to Google’s growing list of collections. It already has around 25 different venues cataloged, including historic Italy, UNESCO World Heritage sites, university campuses, world landmarks, USA summer attractions, and NASA. Last month, Google added street views of the Grand Canyon, displaying more than 9,500 panoramic photos.
For those interested in checking out the stadium, they can go to Google Maps and do a search for “Lucas Oil Stadium” or “Colts Stadium”.
Photo credit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
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