You probably know the Chinese gaming powerhouse “Ourgame,” better as their subsidiary “World Poker Tour,” but they will likely become even more well known for esports in the coming years. Ourgame is looking to create one of the first permanent esports arenas in a Las Vegas casino. Ourgame’s chief executive said in an interview that he would want at least a dozen esports arenas worldwide. If one came to the Strip, it would probably be similar to Ourgame’s Beijing version, a 14,000-square foot complex with a 200 seat arena, a broadcast studio, hundreds of gaming stations and more.
Ourgame’s arena will likely be one of the first of its kind on the strip, but Vegas has already been participating in esports for years. The Evolution Championship Series, a fighting game competition, has been held in Las Vegas since 2005 and the 2016 tournament finals will be held in the 12,000-seat Mandalay Bay Events Center, according to ESPN. The Mandalay Bay will also be hosting the “League of Legends” spring finals on April 17th, and it will be the first time the tournament is not hosted in Los Angeles.
The Rapid Growth of Las Vegas Esports
Esports has been growing so incredibly fast that the general population is being blind-sided by its huge global emergence. According to VentureBeat esports has 200 million fans in an $892 million market and it has doubled in only two years. People outside of esports are left with jaw open wondering how something like watching competitive video games could be so appealing to so many people. When comparing sports to esports there are similarities that help illuminate the trend. Droves of football fans often choose to pay high ticket prices to sit out in the cold hundreds of feet from a field instead of watching from the comfort of home in order to feel the excitement with a community of like minded enthusiasts.
Las Vegas casinos are confronted with a new generation of young adults uninterested in the traditional casino experience and esports is likely to play a huge role in the evolution of the Las Vegas strip, and Ourgame is likely to jump start this new era. Adam Pliska, World Poker Tour’s president, said “Ourgame aimed to do for esports what his tournament series helped do for poker: build an internationally connected set of competitions, essentially.
Beginnings of Regional Esports
A facility similar to Ourgame’s arena actually already exists in the US outside of Las Vegas believe it or not. A similar esports arena opened in Orange County, California last year. The 15,000-square foot facility has a capacity of 1,000 for events, 120 PCs, 64 Xboxes and 32 PlayStation 4’s, according to CEO Paul Ward. Ward said he would like to expand its esports arenas to more locations across North America.
“It’s important to create a regional affinity that doesn’t really exist in esports that drives so much enthusiasm in traditional sports,” he said. “If we can really grow the idea of a Southern California team playing against the Vegas team, or the Bay Area team — that’s a powerful and valuable idea.”