Allied Esports made a series of announcements last night during an event in Las Vegas, including the grand opening date and a major partnership for Esports Arena Las Vegas, and the first stop for its new mobile arena, Esports Arena Drive.
Esports Arena Las Vegas, The Strip’s first dedicated esports arena, will officially open its doors at Luxor Hotel and Casino on Thursday, March 22 with a series of events, including an invitation-only, multi-day, live-streamed tournament. Additional details will be announced at a later date.
“Esports Arena Las Vegas is the cornerstone of our property, brand and content development and will allow us to engage esports communities, brands and stakeholders like never before,” said Jud Hannigan, CEO of Allied Esports. “With Las Vegas rapidly becoming a hub for esports, Esports Arena Las Vegas at Luxor will be the city’s home for competitive gaming and interactive entertainment.”
Allied Esports also announced an exclusive partnership with HARMAN Professional Solutions, the global leader in audio, video, lighting and control systems, including networked AV (AVLC), for Esports Arena Las Vegas. HARMAN Professional has created a uniquely designed product solution for the new arena, including AVLC products from its brand portfolio including JBL Professional®, Martin Professional®, AKG Acoustics®, AMX®, Crown International®, BSS®, and dbx Professional®. The agreement covers the integrated AVLC systems for the 30,000-square foot venue and production studio.
“We are proud to be chosen by and aligned with Allied Esports whose development of the Esports Arena Las Vegas further solidifies their leadership position in the massively growing competitive gaming space,” said Mark Aichele, Director of Hospitality & Broadcast Business Development for HARMAN Professional Solutions. “By exclusively bringing a HARMAN audio, video, lighting and control solution to the Esports Arena, we will deliver a completely immersive experience to powerfully connect the fans to the games.”
Allied Esports and Esports Arena have partnered with Luxor to transform the former nightclub space into a multi-level arena with a competition stage, LED video wall, telescopic seating, daily gaming stations, and state-of-the-art streaming and television-quality production studios. The arena will provide a ready-to-go championship destination for tournaments, leagues and high-stakes matchups in a setting designed to deliver an unparalleled fan experience. In December, Allied Esports and world-renowned chef Jose Andres’ ThinkFoodGroup announced a partnership to create the first gaming-inspired food and beverage menu at Esports Arena Las Vegas, the flagship location of Allied Esports’ growing global network of esports properties spanning North America, Europe and China.
At Wednesday’s event, Allied Esports and Esports Arena also introduced its latest mobile solution, Esports Arena Drive, North America’s first mobile esports touring arena. The state-of-the-art, 80-foot, 18-wheel, 35-ton semi-trailer unfolds with a push of a button to reveal a self-contained mobile arena featuring a competition stage with full production facilities, a caster studio, social media center and VIP lounge.
“Esports Arena Drive gives us an amazing opportunity to reach communities around the country in a truly authentic and awesome way,” said Tyler Endres, COO of Esports Arena. “For players, viewers online, and partners alike, Esports Arena Drive will bring the Esports Arena experience to wherever the fans are.”
LG Electronics USA, a partner of Esports Arena Santa Ana, supported Esports Arena Drive’s Las Vegas reveal, which featured LG’s new gaming monitor (34GK950G) unveiled during CES 2018 earlier this week. The 34-inch screen has a QHD resolution, high-speed G-Sync and Nano IPS technologies. LG’s 2018 monitors will support HDR 600 with a higher dynamic range of peak brightness and Thunderbolt 3 compatibility.
In February, Esports Arena Drive will head to Daytona International Speedway with 704Games, the publisher of NASCAR Heat 2, for a multi-day tournament and fan activation at the Daytona 500. As one of the largest spectator events in the country, fans at the Daytona 500 will benefit from the truck’s production capabilities, and special appearances by industry celebrities and esports personalities will highlight the weekend.
“NASCAR Heat delivers gamers an authentic, fun NASCAR racing experience,” said Paul Brooks, CEO of 704Games. “Fans will be able to compete in multi-player racing in the DAYTONA 500 and Esports Arena Drive will bring this experience to life with an amazing first-class presentation.”
Esports Arena Drive traveled nearly 2,300 miles over five days to reach the event at Luxor on Wednesday. Experience the mobile arena’s maiden voyage by following @ESA_Drive using #EsportsArenaDrive to join the conversation.
Esports Arena Drive is Allied Esports’ second global mobile gaming truck. ELC Gaming, Allied Esports’ European arm, launched “Big Betty” in 2016 and has held events across the continent.