High hopes for new 250-seater arena to develop next generation of military gaming stars

A new 250-seater arena will help to develop the next generation of Britain's top military and professional gamers, according to the British Esports Federation.

The complex in Sunderland will be prioritised for esports, but its multi-purpose nature will enable it to host other events including in the world of music and comedy.

To be completed in early summer, it will be located opposite the Stadium of Light, home of Sunderland Football Club.

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It will be another limb of the National Esports Performance Campus in Sunderland, whose centre already hosts national tournaments and training sessions, including an Inter Service Rocket League competition in December.

Gary Tibbett, head of partnerships at British Esports Federation, told BFBS Forces Sport: "The facility will be used like any other small-to-medium scale arena, so it won't be your O2s or your Wembleys… with this arena, we'll have a really good and fantastic opportunity to bolster UK talent from the amateur scene, moving into a professional scene with the teams.

"Also, there's no real arena in the UK where you can come and have the lights on and the noise of the crowd, what it's like to be on stage, and really own that side of the game.

"A lot of these teams, they're based around the world from the same team, and then they come together once or twice a year for these big tournaments, so it's really good to give them that in-arena experience.

"That's really given bricks and mortar to what this is, it's really bolstered the UK's infrastructure when it comes to esports."

The construction of the arena is set against a backdrop of urban development, renovation of the city of Sunderland and the British Esports Federation wanted to "broaden" its horizons at the same time.

There will also be training areas, a bar, a garden for relaxation, and wellness areas "to cater to all needs of what an esports arena would need as well".

Gary has high hopes for the use of the arena, which played host to UK military Call of Duty teams in the week leading up to their departure to Washington DC for the world-renowned Code Bowl tournament.

He said: "To be able to host the Armed Forces for Code Bowl, for Call of Duty, was incredible. We learnt a lot of lessons – how can we make it better, how can we help with nutrition, how can we help with sleep.

"It's incredible to be able to do this for you guys [military], and also move forward and really make it bigger and better and really put, not just esports on the map for the UK from a competitive standpoint professionally, but for our Armed Forces as well."

He hopes to have Team GB practising there for the Olympic Games and wants to bolster both amateur and professional civilian talent.

"What we need to do now is work on that professional talent so when the Olympics come, and when the Commonwealth Games come and when we have Team England and Team GB, Team Ireland, Team Scotland, Team Wales, we want to make sure that no matter what the team is, we have the best that we can offer to these international stages.

"At the moment, esports is primarily in the south of the UK, so you're looking at London and around those areas, and what we really wanted was to, because we're the British Esports Federation, we want to make sure that it's a UK-centric one as well," he added.

Gary believes the new arena will further establish the UK's standing on the world esports stage.

"If you look at Korea, for example, their professional scene is second-to-none, some of the best teams in the world, some of the best players in the world," he said.

"However, as a federation, the British Esports Federation are held in the top one or two when it comes to academic esports and competitive esports.

"Our grassroots scene, we've built since 2017, 2018 onwards, with a BTech in esports and our student championships, and we are leading the way when it comes to that scene.

"With any career, with any structure, you have to have that foundation, there has to be that base to build up the professional scene."

With the message from British esports that gaming is for everyone, regardless of background or circumstance, he stressed: "The national Esports Performance Campus is a place where we can nurture the talent of tomorrow, regardless of what that pathway is – if you want to be a shoutcaster, or a broadcaster, we have the facilities to practise, to own those skills."