Richmond gamers will soon have a place to compete with each other and practise advanced gaming strategies.
The Gaming Stadium, a dedicated e-sport facility, has secured a location at Lipont Place near Aberdeen Centre.
“It’s going to be open six days a week, hosting different tournaments and events pretty much year around, all on competitive video games,” said Spiro Khouri, vice president of Myesports Ventures Ltd.
Khnuri said the idea of launching a facility like this was inspired by its founders’ two children, who play pretty high-level video games at home.
“He realized there weren’t any places for them to go and participate in events competitively, to get that social aspect to actually be around other people who also compete in those games,” said Khnuri.
The company had put out events in contemporary venues before and saw a “tremendous amount of people” come and participate, according to Khnuri.
“We know there is a community of gamers here in the Greater Vancouver area...we’ve done our market research, so we are pretty confident," he said.
"The other thing is we built a business model that we think is attractive enough that... by showcasing the best games and by putting on events that are fun, we really do expect the attendance to be really good."
Although the exact open date is still undetermined (Khnuri said will be in the next a few months), Myesports Ventures Ltd. already has a plan of how the business is going to work.
“Registration is around $20, you get to participate in the tournament, and there is a cash prize available for the winner in the top three,” explained Khnuri.
“Our events will be for larger groups, anywhere from 50 to 100 in each event. Anyone can participate by registering online in advance or dropping in if there are spots available.”
He added that the tournament could take a whole day, or a couple of hours, depending on the specific game. The current plan is to open at 4 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. on weekends.
"We really want to bring the social aspect of gaming together. That’s very important for us," said Khnuri.
“We are like meetups and community events when people come together for the same goal and common interest, it’s easier to have conversations.
“That’s why we think we can help get people out of their homes, and out in to the public with other people.”
