A new $50 million eSports-specific arena has been announced. Set to be located smack dab in the middle of the Philadelphia Sports Complex, the new arena will give the Philadelphia Fusion of the Overwatch League a home venue. According to the website, the arena will be top of the line and feature a 3,500 fan capacity, “two balcony bars, club seats with USB ports, flexible loge boxes and exclusive suites,” as well as a state of the art training facility for the Fusion.
Comcast Spectacor/The Cordish Companies/Populous
Comcast Spectacor/The Cordish Companies/Populous
The location of the arena puts it in the fray of the Philadelphia sports market, right in the center between the Wells Fargo Center (home of the Flyers and 76ers), Lincoln Financial Field (home of the Eagles), and the Citizens Bank Park (home of the Phillies). The arena will also be right next door to Xfinity Live!, Philadelphia’s go-to entertainment destination. The new arena boasts that it will be “the first ground-up, purpose-built eSports arena in the Western Hemisphere,” though the website states that it will also host “live entertainment programming and experiences.” With eSports on a massive rise in popularity, it’s nice to see it on the same scale as traditional professional sports.
Comcast Spectacor/The Cordish Companies/Populous
The reveal comes shortly after the announcement by Overwatch League Commissioner Nate Nanzer that the League will offer home and away matches in the 2020 season. Each of the twenty teams will feature matches on their home turf instead of sharing the Blizzard Arena in Burbank, California. The Fusion definitely have a leg-up on the competition with their upcoming fancy new arena!