Grand Park continues building out. . .
Once considered a kid’s video game pastime, e-sports is a multi-million-dollar powerhouse with international experience with participants and partners from all walks.
Rick Barretto, Game On chief visionary officer and other partners are launching the first Game On e-sports center at Grand Park Field House to elevate this wide-spread interest in Indiana. Game On will host e-sports leagues, tournaments and individuals.
With 80 state-of-the-art, high-speed computers, Game On will be the leader hosting competitive video game teams, leagues, tournaments and other exciting events centered around specific games releases such as League of Legends and Overwatch. Memberships and open play will enable gamers of all interests.
Mayor Cook
“Grand Park continues to produce wins for Westfield! Game On is a great extension of a place where people come together for fitness, health and connection,” said Mayor Andy Cook. “We are excited to welcome a strong emerging industry and even more participants.”
Game On is a world-class e-sports and educational concept that will expand to other markets to maximize its mission to entertain, educate and inspire. Game On’s state-of-the-art centers will provide leading-edge e-sports experiences, technology, content and development through leagues and tournaments. Player training and development programs will also be offered.
“When you mention gaming, people typically think of a kid playing an online game into the early morning hours – think again,” said Rick Barretto, Game On chief visionary officer. “It is really a new frontier in entertainment, education and competition that attracts millions of participants, spectators and brands.”
Mainstream business experts are declaring booming growth including Deloitte and AdAge along with sports and gaming leaders at Newszoo and Global Sports Insights. Exact growth projections vary, but recent revenue figures indicate that what once was a game sold for at-home enjoyment is now a major world-wide industry.
E-sports infrastructure is similar to that of more traditional sports. Competition venues, established professional and amateur status leagues, consistent regulations, dedicated sports media coverage, training programs and broadcast partnerships have all come to this platform. A recent international tournament took place in Seattle with 16 international professional teams, more than $23 million in prize money, thousands of in-person and online spectators and a full cadre of broadcast analysts.
Add to that leading sports leagues like the NBA, which are now sanctioning e-sports leagues, as an extension of their brand to engage a whole new fan base and stay relevant as technology continues to evolve.
High schools and colleges are declaring gaming a varsity sport, offering scholarships and creating national sanctioning bodies. These same colleges have upped their tech education offerings with New Media, Animation and Creative Digital Development degrees and concentrations. Game design, software developers, audio engineers, writers, translators, animation and musical opportunities are among the emerging e-sports careers.
Those same skills and education are now essential to the growing digital economy in central Indiana with thousands of tech and digital service sector jobs recently recruited.
Game On’s forward-thinking leaders have seen first-hand that e-sports offers opportunities for participants and can help fill the economic, education and workforce development pipeline.