Esports stadium company Glytch has appointed global design firm Populous to aid its vision of delivering 32 esports stadia across the United States and Canada.
Populous will serve as design architect for the venture. With a seating capacity of 1,500 to 3,000 people each, the Glytch stadiums will be constructed over the next eight years.
Each will be the home to a professional esports team, while also being developed to cater for programming including music, comedy, and other live events.
Glytch’s first four locations are Los Angeles, Atlanta, Bellevue, and Chicago and are scheduled to open in 2024 and 2025. Locations are 90,000 to 120,000 ft.² with a budget of around $54m (£44.3m/€52m) each.
Glytch CEO, Gerome Seeney, said: “Populous is one of the greatest architectural firms in the world and the first to declare itself as experts in designing esports stadiums. We are thrilled to work with them to fulfil our vision of what an esports stadium should be. Their innovative design and dedication to esports makes us very excited for our future together.”
Populous has designed purpose-built esports venues and stadiums such as Esports Stadium Arlington, along with other facilities in Philadelphia, Toronto and Melbourne. Populous last month delved into the NFT space by creating what is claimed to be a first of its kind venture with esports organisation Kansas City Pioneers.
Populous, with its Americas headquarters in Kansas City, first formed a partnership with the Pioneers over a year ago, with a shared commitment to strengthening and sustaining the esports industry, in their home communities and throughout the world.
Under the new initiative, dubbed The Arena, a five-part NFT collection has been launched with world-class digital art that aims to allow the viewer to join a fan community on a journey through a prototypical future esports experience.
Commenting on the Glytch partnership, Brian Mirakian, senior principal and global esports director at Populous, said: “Glytch is doing what we believe is the logical next evolution of esports.
“There needs to be a critical mass of stadiums and teams distributed regionally across the Americas equipped with consistent broadcasting platforms, diverse food and beverage options, upscale fan amenities, and location-based entertainment. We are excited to embark upon this design process with Glytch and Legends to connect esports and gaming with more people – both the fans of today and the future.”
Image: Glytch
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