On September 22 and 23, 2026, fans at MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima stepped into a concourse booth, put on XREAL One Pro glasses, and watched Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball with LIVE score, inning, and pitch data in the SAME view as the diamond. Hiroshima XR studio BeRise, sports-data firm Data Stadium, and XREAL framed the trial as a step toward the FIRST commercial AR-glasses viewing product among Japan’s twelve NPB clubs — a REAL stadium product, not a keynote mockup. Fans got the pitch chart without leaving the PLAY.
What Fans Actually Saw
BeRise’s hypothesis is simple: stadium atmosphere is powerful, but fans still look AWAY from the field to check a phone or scoreboard. Pairing AR glasses with Data Stadium’s Sports Data Live feed — built for baseball broadcasters — puts that detail INSIDE the glasses. Planned overlays covered score, inning, other-ballpark updates, and a PITCH chart. Local TV after the games described nearly real-time pitch-type and location callouts, plus a “chance” graphic when runners reached scoring position. Fans kept eyes on the FIELD while the data arrived — the WHOLE point of optical AR in a park: keep the ball in view and still get the STATS.
Sessions ran about THREE minutes wearing the glasses, then about three minutes of survey. Entry was FREE for ticketed fans at the main-gate concourse, with no advance signup. Organizers barred walking in the kit for safety and said numbered tickets would appear if lines grew. That walk-up model is KEY for ordinary season-ticket holders, not only early adopters. A demo that feels SIMPLE is more likely to SCALE.
XREAL One Pro and Beam Pro in the Booth
XREAL Japan’s September 18 release confirms the stack: XREAL One Pro glasses plus the Beam Pro companion unit, loaned for the trial rather than sold at the gate. The pair keeps the stadium view CLEAR while layering digital panels in the same optical path — useful when the “display” is a live ballgame, not a dark VR scene. BeRise handled experience design, XR software, and on-site ops; Data Stadium supplied the live feed; XREAL supplied devices. Carp cooperation is noted in both statements. That role split is PRACTICAL: data specialist, experience builder, and glasses vendor each stay in lane. The glasses were READY for a short concourse loop out of the box.
Why This Matters Beyond Hiroshima
Consumer AR glasses have chased media and navigation demos for years. A ballpark is a harder test: BRIGHT daylight, DENSE crowds, and fans who will not TOLERATE lag between a pitch and the overlay that names it. If Sports Data Live stays USEFUL at three-minute length — and fans prefer it to a phone glance — paid seat-side rentals or season-ticket add-ons become clearer. RCC’s IRAW report quotes BeRise CEO Toshiyuki Hatama aiming for practical deployment as an NPB FIRST, with survey feedback driving the next pass. Commercialization is the POINT. Survey answers will decide what stays in the overlay and what gets cut.
The trial sits beside a wider 2026 push to put sports data into wearables — Meta’s immersive ESPN seats, Canon’s volumetric Asian Games basketball demos. Hiroshima’s version is more MODEST and more LOCAL: walk-up ticketed fans, consumer XREAL hardware, a Hiroshima studio running the show. That GROUND-LEVEL approach may matter more than another keynote reel. If overlays feel NATURAL in a loud, sunlit park, the glasses stop being a gadget and start being how fans watch. For other NPB clubs, the lesson is LOCAL: partner with a TRUSTED data feed, borrow mature consumer glasses, and test with paying fans before inventing a NEW headset.
Related Coverage
Sources
- XREAL Japan press release — One Pro and Beam Pro supplied for Mazda Stadium trial (Sep 18, 2026)
- BeRise / Data Stadium joint release via Jiji — trial scope and Sports Data Live overlays (Sep 18, 2026)
- ASCII.jp reprint of the XREAL release
- IRAW / RCC — post-game report on pitch overlays, “chance” cues, and commercialization aim (Sep 24, 2026)