Twickenham Stadium, the home of rugby union in England, has revealed plans to trial a new ‘slider sofa’ fraction rollercoaster feature during this month’s London Sevens event.
According to the Telegraph newspaper, the slider is a four-person carriage set on an 80m-long track next to the pitch. The slider will move up and down the side of the pitch at speeds of up to 20mph to keep up play and offer fans a close-up view of the action.
The Twickenham slider is sponsored by telecommunications firm Samsung, but the feature has been used at other rugby union events around the world.
In 2014, a slider featured at a Test match between Australia and New Zealand, while fans at last year’s edition of the London Sevens also had the chance to experience the slider.
At the 2016 London Sevens, the slider was in action and fully occupied at all 45 matches. Fans hoping to take a seat in the slider at this year’s event can enter a social media competition via the official Samsung UK Twitter page.
Lawrence Dallaglio, former captain of the England national team, was at the launch event of the slider last year and spoke positively about how the new feature could help boost fan experiences at matches.
“This is a brilliant new innovation for fans,” Dallaglio said, according to the Telegraph. “There is nothing like being in the stadium and hearing the roar of the crowd. The Samsung Slider is an incredible opportunity to bring fans closer to the action than I have ever seen made possible before.”
