Messi to open theme park in China

A theme park dedicated to Barcelona soccer great Lionel Messi is going to be opened in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, reports jiemian.com.

The park, which is set to open in 2019, is jointly backed by China's Phoenix Group, Messi's agency, and Spanish conglomerate Mediapro.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi, centre, shakes hands with a young fan as he arrives for an event to launch the establishment of Messi Experience Park in Beijing, China, Thursday, June 1, 2017. [Photo: AP/Ng Han Guan]

As many as 20 multimedia attractions related to Messi are being designed. There will be 46,000 square meters of indoor space and 12,000 square meters of outdoor game areas, along with 25,000 square meters of public space.

Advanced technology, including Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) will be integrated into the design of the park, allowing visitors to immerse themselves into all wonderful moments of Messi, reports jiemian.com.

"I hope to provide them with an experience they have never had before and encourage people to play football from an early age," said Messi during a news conference in Beijing to promote the theme park.

The Messi Experience Park is the latest in a theme park boom in China. Shanghai Disneyland's opening in 2016 was one of the latest in a string of theme park openings in China.

By 2020, the revenues of theme parks in China are expected to reach $12 billion.