Member Article

Virtual reality pioneers, Sandbox VR, launch largest site and first UK location outside of London at Hammerson’s Bullring & Grand Central

Sandbox VR has officially opened its largest venue globally and first ever UK site outside of London at Hammerson’s Bullring & Grand Central in Birmingham city centre.

The opening of Sandbox VR reflects Hammerson’s strategy to reinvigorate its assets through new brands, market firsts and experiential concepts to attract new visitors and diversify revenue streams. The selection of Bullring & Grand Central demonstrates the appeal and quality of Hammerson’s city centre estates to high-profile brands.

Sandbox VR’s new 13,000 sq ft space will further strengthen Bullring & Grand Central’s leisure offer which will also see the arrival of bowling alley brand, Lane7, and interactive football concept, TOCA Social later year.

Backed by celebrities including Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake and Will Smith, Sandbox VR provides an immersive full-body virtual reality experience.

The new venue will house seven exclusively designed interactive worlds, including the newly launched epic fantasy game, “Seekers of the Shard: Dragonfire” and a captivating replica of the Netflix phenomenon “Squid Game”, set to launch in early Autumn 2023. Sandbox VR’s unmatched immersive experiences are powered by a new generation of Hollywood motion capture cameras, 3D precision full-body trackers, custom hardware, and haptic feedback suits, enhancing the touch, vibration, and motion senses for the user.

Enhancing Sandbox VR’s ground-breaking gameplay, the brand’s much-loved robotic bartender ‘Toni’ adds a unique experience to Grand Central’s hospitality and leisure offer. Shaking, stirring, and serving up to 80 drinks per hour, ‘Toni’ is the UK’s first robotic bartender and is a favourite amongst Sandbox VR guests. There is also a dedicated area that can be hired for private events from corporate functions to birthdays and celebrations with family and friends.

Toby Tait, Director Asset Management, Hammerson, said: “The West Midlands has a long history of technological innovations, so it’s fitting that Sandbox VR has chosen Birmingham’s Grand Central as the destination to take this pioneering experience even further. Pushing the boundaries of leisure and active entertainment, the launch of Sandbox VR’s largest site and first outside of the capital reinforces our commitment to diversifying and repositioning the destination.”

Jake Wilmot-Sitwell, Co-Founder and COO at Sandbox VR UK & Ireland, commented: “Birmingham is a hotbed of innovation and creativity, and situated within the heart of Europe’s youngest city, we could not wish for a better location to launch our largest site and first location outside of London. This Grand Central site is our biggest investment yet and we are delighted to have opened our doors within the West Midlands’ best-connected retail and leisure destination, introducing a brand-new community to Sandbox VR.”

Sandbox VR joins a leading line-up of leisure operators within Hammerson’s Birmingham Estate, including Treetop Adventure Golf and the soon-to-open boutique bowling brand Lane7, alongside the world’s first interactive football experience TOCA Social, which will open in 2024. Further diversifying the city centre proposition, Hammerson has been granted planning consent to bring to life ‘Drum’, creating 200,000 sq ft of modern wellbeing-designed offices inside Grand Central.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Nick Thornton .