Coming to a Neighborhood Near You: Locality in eSports

With the recent announcement of ESL bringing live esports events to 1,500 to 2,000 movie theaters around the world; all on the heels of the Gfinity Arena hosting the CS:GO Spring Masters. The trend of eSports establishing permanent roots in cities across the world is becoming a reality. Since one of eSports strongest characteristics is a devoted fan base, a sense of locality is critical for the continued growth of the scene. eSports fans today might easily think and relate digitally, but they exist locally. Bringing the eSports experience to more permanent locations enables it to spread much the same way traditional sports have for centuries, through local communities.

Despite an increase in OMG PEOPLE GET PAID TO PLAY VIDEO GAMES type coverage of eSports by major media outlets, there is still an underlying sense of disbelief that the industry actually exists. For the majority of humans who haven’t attended a major tournament (in person), the sentiment is that eSports is still a bunch of teenagers playing video games in their parent’s basement. After all, there are no physical stadiums, fields or even telecasts that attest to the existence of this so-called “sport.” So to the casual observer, it’s nearly all hearsay. Not to mention, according to our overlords video games are competitions not sports.

This backdrop is exactly why eSports needs more locality. Dedicated locations where events, tournaments, etc. take place are absolutely critical within sport. A good parallel is tennis. The ATP World Tour is organized around tournaments that take place across the globe. However, unmistakable landmarks like Wimbledon, Melbourne Park, Rolland-Garros provide an invaluable sense of physical context. In the same way that Rafa Nadal or Novak Djokovic don’t [officially] represent a given city, they need the aforementioned locations as critical reference points within their professional history.

The same holds for eSports, especially since teams compete in a virtual setting. Growing fan participation depends on being able to answer the questions “WHAT IS ____?” followed by “WHERE DOES IT HAPPEN?” So even if teams like TSM and Team Liquid don’t have home stadiums; the more dedicated arenas (plus theaters that broadcast their events) where their exploits are made real will drive increased enjoyment of eSports experience for more people.

eSports Group monitors hundreds of trending signals to keep you “in the game” of the global eSports industry.  Join our free mailing list and stay connected to the business side of eSports – http://tinyletter.com/afletcher


Alex Fletcher is founder & president at eSports Group, where he helps customers meet their eSports advisory & consulting needs. When Alex isn’t glued to a screen, he spends time with his wife, their two dogs, and pretends to learn Polish. Feel free to stalk him on Twitter – @FletchUnleashed

Share this Post:

Related Posts:

Let’s Socialize

Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Popular Post