The much anticipated opening of “Esports Arena” in the Luxor arrives March 22 for a private, invite-only event preceding their public opening. The massive 2-story, 30,000 sqft arena is a combination of a premier esports tournament stage, high-end LAN center, and gamer inspired culinary experience in one.
Jose Andres has yet to reveal his gamer inspired menu from inside the arena but “Eater Las Vegas” had these details about the brand new arena:
Inside, guests will encounter a bar, a competition stage, a huge LED video wall, plus, “telescopic seating, daily gaming stations, and state-of-the-art streaming and television-quality production studios.”
Locals, YWS Design & Architecture have contributed to the interior design; well known for their work on Topgolf Las Vegas, Hakkasan, Fiamma at the MGM Grand, and Bardot Brasserie at Aria.
Esports Arena for Locals
Of course many Las Vegas locals might expect an arena inside the Luxor to be tailored specifically to tourists. Fortunately for Vegas locals, there are plans to accommodate us as well; especially during week days.
The operators of Esports Arenas are looking to partner with local gaming communities to host locals events during the week. If you are part of a local esports or video game community, and would like to host a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly event at the Esports Arena, please email [email protected].
On top of this, we know that Esports Arena Santa Ana offers unlimited monthly membership as low as $10 a month. Of course this Arena is much nicer and twice the size, but rumor has it that the Esports Arena in Luxor will serve alcohol, which raises the possibility of cheap admission.
Esports in Las Vegas
Las Vegas may be known for its energetic nightlife scene for young adults, but the truth is the casinos are making a lot of their paycheck on a much older demographic. This presents a problem for casino owners, who understand rising generations will not be as enthusiastic as the current generation about a sea of simple slot machines. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval believes the city needs to change and is working with the Nevada Esports Alliance to transition Las Vegas into the Esports Capital of the world. The Review Journal weighs in on the demographic shift:
“The casino industry is slowly turning to esports in the hopes of attracting millennials that show little interest in playing slot machines and table games. The overwhelming majority of esports viewers are younger than 35 years old.
The global audience for esports is expected to grow 20 percent this year to 258 million while the industry’s revenues are expected to top $1 billion.”
The Esports Arena in Luxor is just one of many magnificent additions coming to Las Vegas, inching us closer to becoming the Esports Capital of the US and possibly the world. Avid esports fans will be relieved to see that the infrastructure for esports will finally start to keep pace with the massive and growing esports fandom, while the rest of the world is hard pressed to acknowledge esports as much more than a niche nerd trend.