Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Calif., is building a dedicated eSports arena to debut in 2018.
The Sacramento Kings plan to build the first dedicated eSports facility within an existing arena, taking advantage of the technological advancements and spaciousness of a venue opened in 2016.
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Calif., already houses the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Kings and the team’s co-owners own an eSports team entered in the inaugural NBA 2K eSports league for 2018. To give its eSports team a home and open space for competition, the Kings will create a “venue within a venue,” building a training facility, broadcast center and gamer lounge inside the downtown arena.
“The venue-within-a-venue is located on the event level of the arena,” Kings CTO Ryan Montoya told Venues Today. “It is just a hallway away from the Sacramento Kings Training Facility and the main event floor of the arena.”
Montoya said they will build a “dynamic studio space that will host small competitions” in a theater-style design. For larger events, the Kings will utilize a direct link with the club and lounge spaces within the Golden 1 Center, as well as the arena bowl, to display competitions on the NBA’s largest video board and the only one in the league featuring 4K Ultra HD resolution. The arena’s 360-degree audio will supplement the full-arena experience.
“Using technology to engage with our fans and reach new audiences has always been core to our organization’s mission,” said Vivek Ranadivé, Kings owner and chairman. “Golden 1 Center is the most advanced arena for basketball, entertainment and esports. This state-of-the-art facility will set a new standard and provide the best-in-class tools that the next generation of superstar gamers need to train, compete and win.”
A full-service studio and green screen room, complete with 4K cameras, will enable the team to create unique content and share it with fans around the world. The production studio links to Golden 1 Center’s 4K Ultra HD Broadcast Center for streaming. A dedicated LAN setup, backed by Golden 1 Center’s 200 GBPS internet connection and the first Tier 4 Data Center in sports, will deliver lag-free gaming and connectivity. Fans can gain a live look inside the gaming room through a 360-degree camera for advanced livestreams.
Along with state-of-the-art gaming technology, the Kings plan to serve gamers, artists and the community. That includes intentionally designing the studio to serve different audiences, whether students or entertainers performing in the arena who can enjoy the high-tech space down to hundreds of gaming titles, including Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros on Nintendo 64 to the newest, most popular videogames and virtual reality experiences. Along with videogame consoles, the studio will feature a professional DJ rig for guests to record music.
“At the core of our business mission, we want to serve as an agent of change, and this is a unique opportunity for us to use our platform to help local groups improve education outcomes or spark a student with an interest in tech,” Montoya said about partnering with the Sacramento Kings Foundation to lend the room to the region’s nonprofits as an educational incentive, a unique engagement tool to connect with students with tech-driven curriculum.
Students won’t be the only ones getting a little extra on their visit to the building. “On the arena side,” he said, “it is an amenity that no other venue can offer performers or their management right now. It is another one of those special touches—similar to our locally sourced cuisine or unmatched tech infrastructure—that we hope will leave a lasting impression with artists who visit the Golden 1 Center.”
The Kings plan to expose the professional gamers to the same treatment the NBA players enjoy, whether it's the culinary program or training facility. The team boasts an on-demand oxygen bar plus a beverage bar with fresh kombucha and nitrogen coffee to energize the gamers.
The Kings also want to expose gamers to the same fans that cheer on the NBA team. “We have incredibly passionate and engaged fans, including many who are young and excited about gaming,” Montoya said. “Esports is a natural extension for us and allows us to further engage with our fans and grow new ones.”