updated 4:42 p.m. ET Aug. 24, 2009

BRISTOL, Conn. - ESPN says it will test its ability to televise football games in 3-D with a special screening of the game between No. 4 USC and No. 6 Ohio State at three theaters on Sept. 12.

Tickets will be given away to fans listening to ESPN radio affiliates in Los Angeles, Dallas and Columbus, Ohio, later this week.

The Galen Center on the USC campus in Los Angeles will screen the game in 3-D, as will theaters in Columbus and Hurst, Texas — the lone neutral site for gathering fan reaction. ESPN staff will also watch a screening in Hartford, Conn., near its Bristol headquarters.

The game, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time, will also be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN HD.

The sports network owned by The Walt Disney Co. said crews will use seven 3-D cameras developed by Vince Pace and director James Cameron, capping off two years of research into how to apply 3-D technology to live game situations.

“The results of this research will enable ESPN to quantify what it takes to produce, transmit and enable the 3-D experience for our fans,” said Anthony Bailey, ESPN’s vice president of emerging technologies.

It marks the third 3-D test screening of a football game in the U.S. In January, thousands of people in 30 cities nationwide paid about $20 to watch No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Oklahoma in a 3-D airing of the BCS championship game.

That followed the test 3-D screening of a game between the Oakland Raiders and the San Diego Chargers last December. Both previous shoots were handled by Burbank, Calif.-based 3ality Digital LLC.

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