Hangzhou, a city in China, has officially opened its ‘esports town’, an area that covers 3.94m square feet and cost approximately ¥2B RMB (£226 million) to construct.
The complex was opened to the public on November 16th, operated by the Hangzhou government. It’s reported that it plans to have 14 esports projects in motion by 2022, including the likes of an esports academy, a hotel, and a hospital.
Allied Esports and LGD Gaming have opened up an office and esports venue in the town; something that was planned in June. It’ll act as the home venue for LGD Gaming’s League of Legends team, which competes in the League of Legends Pro League (LPL).
Allied Esports is an endemic venue and content production company that operates multiple arenas around the world. This includes the Esports Arena Las Vegas, in which the naming rights were recently acquired by HyperX.
Hangzhou is quickly making a name for itself in the esports industry, with an Overwatch League franchise branded with the city’s name recently being revealed. Owned by entertainment company Bilibili, the Hangzhou Spark were presented to the world earlier this month. The team is one of 20 that will compete in the league from February 14th.
The city will also host the 2022 Asian Games, where esports may be included in the event as a medal sport for the first time. Competitive gaming was utilised as a demonstration event at the Asian Games earlier this year.
Esports Insider says: A whole area dedicated to esports was bound to come at some point considering the projections for the industry. The 2022 Asian Games potentially including esports could well have been a big motivating factor in the Hangzhou esports town as it seemingly will be able tend to a number of teams closer to the event.