esports

esports

eSports is incredibly popular, and you can see why.  It combines two things, that are seemingly opposite and brings them together in a whole new and interesting way.  That said, there are a few eSports arenas in the United States, but none in Canada.  Canada, in general, doesn’t have a lot of professional sports stadiums, so it seems a bit odd that they are considering building an eSports arena.  Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great.  The fact is hockey is what dominates in Canada.  Toronto only has one basketball team and one baseball team, and there is nothing else for the rest of the country.  Hockey, however, (the NHL more specifically) seems to be on every corner.  So will this be a good thing for Canada?

I think it will, but let’s talk specifics first.  Myesports Ventures has announced that it’s opening The Gaming Stadium in Vancouver sometime in 2019.  It’s technically in Richmond, but if you’re not a local, then that’s Vancouver.  It won’t be a large stadium, but it will have room for 250 fans, 40 gaming stations as well as broadcasters.  This sounds more like a facility, and less like a stadium, doesn’t it?  I guess when I heard stadium, I automatically thought a venue that would hold thousands of people.  But 250 people is not a lot, and in fact, sounds a bit like a wedding venue.  Or is that just me?

I’m not trying to put this down.  I think it’s great that this is being built, and I would like to see more built throughout North America.  I just wonder why it’s being billed as a stadium when it is the size of my local community center?  Of course, you can expect food and drinks to be served in the “stadium”.  Creators are promising competitions at “all skill levels”, as well as coaching for those looking to boost their talents.

You might wonder why Vancouver.  It certainly doesn’t seem like the first choice for this particular venue.  In fact, as I mentioned before – Canada only has one basketball team, and one baseball team and they’re both located in Toronto.  Even Montreal, which is more sports-friendly than Vancouver, might have been a better option.  That said, Vancouver has a vibrant gaming scene given its proximity to technology.  I’m not saying that you can draw a straight line here, but there are a lot of developers in the area and it’s a streaming community.  It’s also int he same time zone as California, which makes it good from a viewing perspective.  It’s close to Seattle, so if there are American fans, they won’t have far to travel.  Not only that, but Toronto is pretty dense, in general, so this might actually be a good move.

As I mentioned, this seems like a pretty small venue, and it is.  Even though its small, it still is a testament to the popularity of pro-gaming. It works a bit differently than other sports because if there’s a large population of gamers in one geographic area, it’s likely not long before there’s a place to play the games professionally.  It will be great to see when it gets built, what it looks like, and if the capacity makes a difference in terms of the events that can be held there.