PlayVS Stadium
Overview
Project Type: 0→1 Product Design
My Role: Lead Product Designer – UX, Visual Design, IA
Platform: Responsive Web
Timeline: 3 Months
Team: PM, 3 Engineers, UX Researcher
Outcome: Launched on time for EA's Madden Youth Championship — 20K+ sign-ups, 20M+ impressions, and a platform credible enough to land the NFL as a follow-on partner.
The Setup
EA wanted to run a sponsored youth Madden tournament and needed a platform to support it. We had the infrastructure — but PlayVS was built entirely around schools. Coaches, seasons, league rosters. None of that mapped to individual players signing up for an open tournament. We had 3 months to make it work before the first event went live.
The Design Problem
This wasn't a reskin. The entire information architecture had to shift — from school → league → season → rankings to individual → event → bracket → winner. Same underlying platform, fundamentally different user model. We couldn't rebuild from scratch, so the real question was: what do we adapt, and what do we build new?
The Key Decision
I mapped our existing Nexus design system components to tournament patterns first — adapting language ("League" → "Events", "Season" → "Tournament") while keeping the hub structure familiar to returning users. 50+ components ready to go meant I could focus design effort on what was actually new: the registration flow.
Open tournaments attract casual interest. That means no-shows, forfeits, and a bad experience for players who actually show up. I designed a two-step commitment model — join and fill your roster first, then confirm registration second. The friction was intentional. Only serious teams complete both steps.
What It Unlocked
Stadium launched on time for the Madden Youth Championship — 20K+ sign-ups, 20M+ impressions, 200+ live attendees per event. More importantly it proved the model. The NFL followed, bringing 21 teams to PlayVS for youth esports programs and establishing publisher partnerships as a viable revenue stream beyond school subscriptions.
