We’ve had plenty of stadiums host esports events before. But, the Zhongxian E-Sports Stadium is the first one designed for esports from the get-go.
About the stadium
The complex is known as Zhongxian E-Sports Stadium. For reference, this is where Zhongxian, Chongqing, China is:
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The arena
According to the South China Morning Post, the arena will seat 7,000 people. Of course, the ‘wings’ of the stadium can seat an extra 13,000 people if they need more seating.
For those that aren’t able to sit in the stadium, the glass panes on the exterior double as LED screens. These screens suit esports perfectly given the action is all on-screen.
The hotel
In addition to the main arena in the stadium complex, they’ll also be building a luxury hotel. The hotel will be 64,000 square feet in size — that’s almost 6000 m².
The incubation centre
As far as we know, the incubation centre sounds like Sydney Cricket Ground’s Esports High Performance Centre. If that is the case, the centre will focus on helping develop young esports talent.
Photos of the stadium
Here are photos of the construction site that the architecture firm of Barrie Ho uploaded to their Facebook page. By the looks of it, the main stadium has a prime location along the banks of the Yangtze River.
Esports is growing
We already know that esports viewership is starting to properly outgrow traditional sports. Of course, one great example is how the Overwatch League’s opening day drew in more viewership than the NFL’s livestreams.
Locally, IEM Sydney is expanding this year to 3 whole days of events after last year’s success. IEM Sydney’s inaugural 2017 event drew in 7,000 attendees for each of the 2 days the event was open.
H/T: http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2133582/inside-worlds-first-purpose-built-e-sports-stadium-china-hong-kong
Images: Barrie Ho Architecture Interiors Ltd.
