Fortuna Sittard—Top of the League Experience

Branding company On The Road Creative and Scala team up to bring the rich legacy of Fortuna Sittard Football Club to life.

Project summary

Scala created an interactive map that shows where all players of the football (soccer) club Fortuna have played (internationally). By using an interactive “wheel” visitors can scroll through the player list and select their favorite player to discover more details and facts about that player. Next to that a small movie theatre was created where historic matches of the club can be watched.

Goal & Challenge

Goal: Fortuna Sittard Football Club, the oldest professional club in the Netherlands, wanted to convey the illustrious history of the club, its players and successes in its state of the art Fortuna Museum. A 150 square meter exhibition space, designed by architect Koen Savelkoul, located within the Fortuna Sittard stadium, the Fortuna Museum required a digital solution that would bring the artifacts such as photographs, jerseys and trophies to life in a way that would satisfy the long-standing fans while also engaging those who may be visiting the club for the first time.

Challenge: The rich history of the club and its predecessors Fortuna ’54, Sittardia, Sittardse Boys, VVS and SV Maurits, had to be showcased in a way befitting the club and its generations of supporters. In order to provide as entertaining, informative and engaging an experience for visitors as possible, the Fortuna Museum required a solution that would bring context to over 300 historical artifacts. A balance needed to be struck between providing the more in-depth information required by long-serving followers of the football club while also giving those who may only have a passing interest or be new to the club, an experience that would be entertaining and inclusive. The Club desired opportunities of interaction across the museum with all visitor touch points robust and reliable to ensure a seamless experience.

Solution

Scala provided a variety of screens at the request of Koen Savelkoul’s branding agency, On The Road Creative. Used across the museum in a variety of ways, Scala screens are first encountered in the entryway of the museum to welcome visitors and inform them of crucial information such as opening hours, pricing and special events. Inside the exhibit space itself, Scala technology plays an essential role in the visitor experience. Audio and visual clips from across the history of the club are made available via the Scala CMS and media players. Scala screens are incorporated across the exhibit giving fans an opportunity to find out more in depth information on their favorite players and seasons. In one exhibit, high resolution Scala screens replace screens in a pile of vintage tube televisions which display important Fortuna Sittard matches across the decades. In another exhibit, screens display an interactive map which shows the clubs where Fortuna Sittard team members, selected by the visitor, have previously played.

Results

Since opening in spring 2020, the Fortuna Museum has welcomed thousands of visitors and enjoyed five star reviews. The inventive use of digital technology has given fans of all tenures a unique way to interact with and learn more about the club, its players and the history of professional football in the Westelijke Mijnstreek region.

Scala is the sole content creator for Fortuna Museum. When Fortuna Museum needs to refresh, change, add or delete content such as new player or results information, the Scala team works with the club to create and distribute new creative content which is distributed through the centralized Scala Content Management System.

About Fortuna Sittard

Fortuna Sittard, the oldest professional football club in the Netherlands is a merge of former clubs Fortuna 54 and Sittardia, which merged as the Fortuna Sittardia Combination on 1 July 1968. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie.