A multimillion-dollar investment from an alliance of five Chinese sports and video game companies "will bring upgrades" to a large-scale e-sports venue in Santa Ana and "finance a second location on the Oakland waterfront," according to Paresh Dave of the L.A. TIMES. The deal "marks the beginning of Allied eSports’ plan to run a worldwide video gaming league through a network of arenas it helps fund." The company now has "minority ownership in ESports Arena, which founded the Santa Ana venue and has ambitions to go national." Next week, Allied plans to announce a "similar partnership in Europe." It already operates a "nearly year-old, theater-style gaming arena in downtown Beijing." ESports Arena in Santa Ana opened a year ago, and venue CEO Paul Ward said he is "extremely happy" with how it has been going. Ward said that one event "drew upwards of 2,000 people." Weekly tournaments "can attract a couple of hundred players." The 16,000-square-foot Oakland facility "is scheduled to open" at the end of '16 (LATIMES.com, 8/11). In S.F., Benny Evangelista notes the Oakland arena will be "a 1,000-seat facility" and is "planned for Jack London Square." The facility would be "the Bay Area's first dedicated e-sports venue." Ward said, "To a lot of people, this is a part of their culture. It's what they love to watch and experience." Allied eSports Senior VP Jud Hannigan said that the Oakland venue hopes to give fans a "variety of options, including game stations to play the games alone or with a group of friends." Evangelista notes these new e-sports dedicated venues "draw revenue from ticket sales and memberships to draw in viewers." ESports Arena, for example, "charges $18 for a one-month membership at its Santa Ana location, reduced to $13 a month for an ongoing subscription, or $10 for a day pass" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/12).
