According to a report by the Chinese government-run website People.cn, one of the first facilities to be opened in the town was an eSports venue for LGD Gaming, which will serve as the organization’s home venue for its League of Legends team in the League of Legends Pro League (LPL). LGD also has successful teams in other games, including Dota 2 where its squad, PSG.LGD, were the runners-up in The International 2018.
LGD signed a partnership deal with Allied Esports back in June this year to build its venue in Hangzhou. Allied Esports is a global esports venue company that has built and operates several arenas aoround the world, including the HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas, which will host the League of Legends All-Star 2018 event on December 6 to 8.
LGD’s Hangzhou arena is the fourth facility of its kind that Allied Esports has opened in China—with the others located in Tianjin, Shenzhen, and Beijing.
The Hangzhou city government has also announced further plans to build 14 esports facilities in the city before 2022. A budget of up to US$2.22 billion has already been proposed for the project, which will include an esports academy, esports-themed hotel, theme park, a business center, and a hospital designed for esports players.
Hangzhou expects that the esports town will attract over 10,000 aspiring esports professionals and bring in US$140 million in estimated tax revenues.
China has long been one of the hotspots for esports since the industry’s inception, with cities such as Hangzhou fully riding the rising waves of the industry. Hangzhou will be playing host to the 2022 Asian Games, which is expected to include esports as a medal event for the first time. Meanwhile, another major esports city in China, Shanghai, will be hosting Dota 2’s The International 2019, the first of its kind in the East.
Source: GMB / Fox Sports Asia
