Premier Partnerships has been retained to sell naming rights to Esports Arena Las Vegas, now under construction inside Luxor on the Strip. The 30,000-square-foot facility, slated to open in early '18, marks Premier's first public foray into esports after a year of confidential consulting for several clients, President & CEO Randy Bernstein said. The Vegas arena is one of three North American locations opened or announced so far by Allied Esports, a joint venture of Chinese gaming concerns. Premier believes the facility has potential beyond what the still-emerging esports market would normally carry because of its prominent location, said VP/Corporate Partnerships Bryan Stewart. It is intended to act as a high-profile showcase to esports neophytes. "It’s not just about the venue itself when the tournaments are going on,” he said. “It’s that you’re sort of ushering people into the experience, to get a feel for it. Because you’re going to have a lot of people going to the Luxor that perhaps have never heard of esports before.” All of Allied Esports' facilities are designed to host both day-to-day casual video gaming by members and guests and elite competitions, with streaming production capabilities. The likely contract will be a long-term deal, Bernstein said, but still much shorter than the 20- or 25-year deals common in traditional sports. He declined to give impression estimates for the arena. Earlier this year, ELeague sold naming rights to the esports arena at Turner Studios in Atlanta to Gamma Labs’ G Fuel brand.
