The eSports phenomenon is coming to the Las Vegas Strip in a big way as the Luxor prepares to transform its shuttered 30,000-square-foot LAX nightclub into a gamers paradise.
MGM Resorts International is partnering with Allied Esports, Allied subsidiary Esports Arena and YWS Design & Architecture to develop the multi-level venue?Esports Arena Las Vegas, it’s called. Work is scheduled to begin in June with an opening set for early 2018. Plans call for a competition stage, LED video wall, telescopic seating, daily gaming stations, state-of-the-art streaming and television-quality production studios and a diverse food and beverage offering.
Tyler Endres, co-founder and COO of Esports Arena, promises “the ultimate eSports environment that people from around the world will strive to experience first-hand”.
“We’ve closely watched the growth and excitement around eSports, and we are always looking for new amenities for our Vegas customers,” Luxor General Manager Niklas Rytterstrom told The Associated Press.
Esports Arena Las Vegas will be the city’s second dedicated game facility. The first Millennial E-Sports, located Downtown in the Neonopolis building on Fremont Street, began hosting players and their fans in March. The Downtown Grand was the first casino to host eSports players, and continues to feature an eSports lounge separate from the casino.
It’s all part of a trend the casino industry hopes to capitalize on as it works to craft a new image for Las Vegas as a go-to destination for younger tourists and gamblers.
A newly released 2016 tourism survey from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority shows that one-third of the city’s 40 million-plus visitors are millennials?those between 18 and 35?up from less than 25 percent in 2015.
Allied, which launched its Esports Arena brand in Santa Ana, Calif., in 2015, is riding a socio-cultural wave that has seen the company’s network of venues spread across North America and expand overseas into China and Europe.
ESports has boomed thanks to streaming services like Twitch, which brings together an estimated 10 million visitors a day?game developers, players and creative arts professionals?to watch and talk about video games with more than 2 million streamers.
The industry is expected to be worth more than $1.23 billion by 2019, according to a report by Super Data research cited by AP. This year alone, more than 213 million people will watch competitive gaming, with that number expected to grow to 303 million by 2019, according to the report.
The arena at Luxor will be designed to host 1,000 people at a time. It will have areas both for adults and visitors under 21. Endres said the venue’s “operation and programming will be unique” and will provide a destination for tournaments, leagues and high-stakes match-ups.
“The rest of our locations are very much driven to engage and support local communities,” he said, “while here in Las Vegas we are developing an approach that will also create excitement for the millions of visitors who come to the city every year.”
