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Bradenton, Florida -- The way Americans watch live sporting events may be about to change. Next week's Bowl Championship Series game between the University of Florida and the University of Oklahoma will be available in 3-D at a select number of movie theaters around the country.
Carmike Cinemas Royal Palm 20 in Bradenton is the only theater in the Bay area that will show the football game in 3-D. Complex Manager Andrew Swain says he's gotten a sneak peak and says people will be amazed.
"The ball's getting thrown in the air and the receiver is about to catch it, that angle, it's like coming right at you" he said.
Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp, along with Fox Sports, will be working with Sony and 3ality to broadcast the game. What fans watch in the theater will not be the same signal that fans at home watch. Instead the game will be shot with special cameras and a separate broadcast crew will call the game. The signal will then be sent out nationwide to about 80 theaters in 35 different states.
In order to watch the game in 3-D, people in the theater will have to wear polarized glasses. Swain says they're the same kind of glasses people had to wear to watch recent movies like Bolt in 3-D.
Michele Martell, Cinedigm's COO says next week's game is just the start, predicting more sporting events will eventually be shown in 3-D.
"I'm not sure that we'll see every high school football game broadcast in 3-D, but for really big events I think we'll start to see thing like the Super Bowl in 3-D in theaters" Martell said.
Tickets to watch next week's title game at Carmike Royal Palm 20 are now on sale at a cost of $20 each. Swain says the game will be broadcast in four auditoriums and predicts they will have a sell-out. He adds fans in two of the auditoriums will be allowed to buy beer.
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