As esports have grown to be a worldwide phenomenon of incredible magnitude, they needed a place to call home, and existing sports venues simply don’t make the cut. Thus, the esports arena was born.
© HyperX
In its purest form, an esports arena is a place to host esports events. Esports arenas are often venues for other types of events like concerts or sports that get converted to host esports tournaments.
Since esports games of different genres are different in the way they play, arenas must be fitted with additional infrastructure to support those games. Esports-specific venues are also a possibility, but the aspect of retrofitting an existing space to support esports tournaments is much more appealing for owners of those spaces. The creation of an esports arena is thus more complicated than some might expect.
The esports arena venues must have high-speed internet, large viewing screens, and a dedicated technical team during the event to make sure everything goes smoothly since the audience can see what is happening. These screens must be placed so that they can be clearly seen from the arena’s existing seats.
Esports events also have casting talent which need their own space and equipment to broadcast from. The technical team must then make sure that the audio from the casters’ microphones is broadcast loud and clear and is audible in the arena even with thousands of fans’ screams.
Having so many devices connected to the same network at once leads to occasional technical difficulties. Venues must have a tech support team ready to go at all times to ensure that these problems are solved as fast as possible, and the viewing experience is not interrupted for too long.
The biggest perk of watching a live esports event in the arena where it’s happening is just the atmosphere. Being surrounded by thousands of fellow fans who play the same game you play feels like one big family. Attendees of these events also sometimes receive exclusive in-game items that are not available in any other place other than that event.
The next step for esports arenas is to provide seamless esports betting opportunities and social areas to get on track with Esports News on the fly. Once this is achieved, the entire environment will feature a complete esports experience.
© Esports Stadium Arlington
Have esports arenas stayed successful this year?
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic postponing all live events, esports events have thrived with online tournaments. The tournament hosts who would usually hold in-person competitions at esports arenas have successfully made the transition to online.
Teams play remotely from their homes with webcams pointed at their faces in the same way that cameras would be on stage. The online broadcast aspect of esports remains the same. Esports has thrived so well under quarantine conditions that even the NBA took advantage of their growth.
One week after the NBA shut down due to COVID-19, the Phoenix Suns and the Minnesota Timberwolves played their game online in NBA 2K. The event drew over 3 million fans, a lot more than the usual turnout at a real-life NBA game.
Universities, on the other hand, used this downtime to build their own esports gaming centers. Before the pandemic lockdown began, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU) and Full Sail University began creating their own esports facilities.
It is not all good news though. In Philadelphia, a $50 million esports arena dubbed “Fusion Arena” had to postpone construction because of the pandemic. The 3,500-seat facility was supposed to open sometime next year and got put forward by Comcast Spectacor, the company that owns the Philadelphia Fusion team in the Overwatch League.
The lockdown and social distances will only serve to increase people’s need for social engagement. Social events like esports tournaments where everyone in attendance is a like-minded individual who plays the same game will be a likely hotspot after the pandemic is over.
As people are more likely to use their free time for social activities in post-corona times, esports arenas might see themselves in need of expansion to accommodate the social need for esports tournaments. More games with esports potential have been released since the pandemic started, and they will likely need space too should the developers decide to go the esports route.
In short, esports arenas will have plenty of attendance in the future after many months of quarantine. This widespread attendance could lead to more esports arenas popping up and thus furthering the spread of esports into the public eye. Similarly, colleges will follow their fellow brethren in creating their own esports spaces which will expose more and more college students to a possible career as a professional gamer.
It has been known for a while now that esports are here to stay, but with everything that has been going on globally, their prevalence will be even higher than previously expected.
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