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The energy inside a packed arena builds long before the first whistle. Fans rise from their seats as the clock counts down. Conversations pause as anticipation spreads. Every pass, shot and turnover sparks a shared reaction that resonates throughout the venue.
Live sports have always been as much about the atmosphere as the action. The sound of the crowd, the rhythm of play and the collective emotion of thousands of fans create an experience that extends far beyond the scoreboard.
For blind and low-vision fans, however, following that real-time action has often relied on imagination, audio commentary or the help of friends and family to describe what’s happening. While those connections can still be meaningful, they can also create distance from the immediacy of live sport. Globally, at least 2.2 billion people live with blindness or low vision, with estimates of around 50 million experiencing total blindness.
Across leagues and events, that experience continues to improve through advancements in technology. As one blind sports fan who used tactile technology during a live NFL event put it, “It will allow me to engage and enjoy the game as close as possible as people who can see.”
Translating the Game Through Touch
In recent years, professional sports organizations have begun introducing tactile technology to help blind and low-vision fans follow live gameplay through touch. Among the most visible examples is the OneCourt tablet, a device that translates game movement into vibrations and physical feedback that mirrors the flow of play in real time.
The concept for OneCourt began in 2021 in the U.S. as a student design project at the University of Washington in Seattle. The device was developed by engineers working alongside blind and low-vision users who wanted a more independent way to experience live sport. Early versions were shaped directly by user feedback, helping determine how movement, positioning and key moments could be communicated through touch rather than sight.
Rather than relying on play-by-play descriptions, the tablet allows fans to feel the action as it happens. As players move across the court or field, tactile signals track the movement of the ball, shifts in momentum and pivotal moments in the game.
From Pilot to Presence Across Sport
Basketball has provided one of the most visible platforms for the technology’s early use. Teams like the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, have piloted the device inside their arena, offering blind and low-vision fans the opportunity to follow games independently from their seats.
That momentum has extended beyond basketball. Accessibility pilots across the NFL have introduced the technology at regular-season games and major events, including last Sunday’s 2026 Super Bowl LX. Teams such as the Seattle Seahawks have taken part in these pilots, helping test how tactile access works inside some of sport’s largest and most complex live environments.
Baseball teams have also begun exploring similar approaches. The MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks partnered with accessibility advocates to pilot tactile fan experiences designed to help blind and low-vision spectators track ball movement throughout the game. The slower, strategic pace of baseball presents a different sensory rhythm for users, highlighting how tactile design can adapt across sports with very different styles of play.
Tactile Tech Across the Globe
The technology has also been introduced at international tournaments in recent years. During the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, one of the world’s premier global club football tournaments, tactile broadcast boards allowed fans to follow matches through vibration-based feedback paired with live audio commentary. The activation marked one of the first uses of this technology within a major international football competition, extending accessibility beyond domestic league play and into global tournaments.
Similar ideas are in action around the world. In Ireland, a similar tactile broadcast tool called Field of Vision has been introduced to help blind and low-vision fans follow live rugby matches. In France, accessible stadium initiatives have explored tactile and multi-sensory fan experiences at Ligue 1 football venues and the 2023 Rugby World Cup through Touch2See (an Ignite365 Award recipient through the Olympism 365 Innovation Hub). Together, these efforts point to a growing global movement to rethink how live sport is designed for fans with different sensory and accessibility needs.
Designing Sport Around Experience
For fans who have used tactile devices, the impact often centers on something simple but powerful: participation. As one fan described, “It was like giving me my own pair of eyes.”
Live sport thrives on shared reactions — cheering with strangers, anticipating turning points and feeling the tension of a close game alongside thousands of other people. When fans can follow the action independently, those shared moments become more immediate and personal. The expansion of tactile technology also reflects a broader shift in how sports organizations think about fan experience. Rather than treating accessibility as an add-on, many are beginning to consider how inclusive design can be integrated directly into the fabric of live events.
While these innovations directly support blind and low-vision fans, they also demonstrate how designing for accessibility can unlock new ways of thinking about engagement more broadly, from sound design to interactive viewing tools.
Expanding Who the Game Belongs To
As tactile technology continues to appear across leagues, venues and international competitions, it reflects a growing understanding that access to sport is not only about participation on the field. It also shapes who feels welcome in the stands, in the crowd and within the culture that surrounds sport itself.
For blind and low-vision fans, the ability to follow a game through touch can transform the experience — creating opportunities to share moments with family, celebrate victories in real time and feel fully part of the atmosphere that defines sport.
As organizations continue to explore new ways to make sport more accessible, these innovations point toward a future where live events are designed with a wider range of experiences in mind. In doing so, they help ensure that the energy, emotion and community that define sport remain shared by as many fans as possible.
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