'Pilgrimage site' aim for Chinese e-sports hub

SHANGHAI • China has begun building a 5.8 billion yuan (S$1.19 billion) facility it hopes will be the envy of e-sports and seal its push to make Shanghai the global capital of the fast-growing professional gaming industry.

The Shanghai International New Cultural and Creative E-sports Centre is scheduled for completion in 2023, the Chinese authorities and media said.

Officials in the Shanghai district of Minhang that is home to the centre said they want it to become "a pilgrimage site" for e-sports enthusiasts from all over the world.

Once finished, it will boast a 6,000-seater e-sports venue, a five-star e-sports-themed hotel and a museum devoted to gaming, district officials said.

The high-tech hub will span 500,000 sq m and "accommodate hundreds of domestic and foreign e-sports-related enterprises", the district economic development committee said following Monday's ground-breaking ceremony.

Leading Shanghai sports official Luo Wenhua told the AFP in 2018 that the Chinese city "has proposed to become the capital of e-sports".

In September and October last year, Shanghai hosted the League of Legends world championships, one of the most prestigious events in e-sports.

Chinese team Suning lost to South Korea's Damwon Gaming in the final at Pudong Football Stadium in front of more than 6,000 spectators, bucking the trend in a year when many sports took place behind closed doors because of the coronavirus pandemic.

China, which has an estimated 720 million gamers, will host the tournament again this year.

According to games market research firm Newzoo, global e-sports revenues were expected to grow an estimated US$1.1 billion last year, a year-on-year growth of 15.7 per cent. The worldwide audience was also expected to grow to 495 million people, a year-on-year growth of 11.7 per cent.

A China Daily report said last year that e-sports is experiencing a boom in the country, becoming a key driving force boosting the growth of the domestic gaming sector.

Major cities and provinces, such as Hainan province, Shanghai, Chongqing and Hangzhou, have been actively competing to become the country's new e-sports hub.

The competition within the huge country is understandable.

Xiao Hong, chief executive officer of Perfect World, which helped organise The International 2019, the world's largest Dota 2 e-sports tournament, explained: "E-sports will... empower other industries, generating a variety of new businesses in terms of tourism, finance, e-commerce and training. Thus, it will generate new momentum in the economy and bring more development opportunities for cities."

E-sports has also been steadily gaining ground in terms of acceptance and recognition from mainstream sports officials.

In 2019, it was in the programme for the SEA Games in the Philippines as a medal sport.

It has also been included in next year's Asian Games in Hangzhou. It was a demonstration sport at the 2018 edition in Palembang, Indonesia.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE