Stadium Southland to tap into growing global esports industry

ILT Stadium Southland is best known as the home for professional sports teams the Southern Steel and Southland Sharks, and now esports is emerging as another revenue stream.

Stadium Southland boss Nigel Skelt saw “massive potential” in the esports industry and was eager for the Invercargill venue to be a leader rather than a follower in New Zealand.

The stadium will host its first esports tournament (a form of sport competition using video games) on February 27 and 28.

The hope is month’s “grassroots” event will provide a step towards bigger esports attractions at the stadium.

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Esports is a booming global industry, where video gamers play competitively.

Last year market analysts valued the global esports market at about $1.3 billion dollars, with it estimated to reach almost $2.2 billion in 2023.

Prior to Covid-19 high-profile esports tournaments in the United States and Europe drew crowds of up to 60,000 to stadiums.

Skelt recently watched some of New Zealand’s best gamers in action in Auckland where he spent time building contacts within the industry.

He acknowledged the gaming scene was new to him, and it had put him at the stadium board out of their comfort zone. However, they agreed there was massive potential as they continue to look for new events and new revenue streams for the venue.

“We need to make sure we are leading not following [with esports],’’ Skelt said.

“This is what a lot of our young people are doing, so we need to work with that.”

Stadium Southland was well-placed to host gaming events given it had the big cube screen situated above centre court for spectators to watch, Skelt said.

The stadium has teamed up with Your Corps Multiplayer Video Gaming for its first venture into hosting esports this month.

This tournament has been set up for Southland’s youth, with ages 8 to 12 to compete on Saturday, February 28, and 13 to 17-year-olds the next day.

A $1000 prize has been put up for each day of the tournament with the game Fortnite to be played. Tournaments for adults would follow if this month’s stadium debut was a success.

Your Corps founder James Wards agreed there was huge potential for Invercargill, in terms of leading the way with esports in New Zealand.

Although his core focus was on using gaming as a tool to help with youth mental health and social well-being.

He said they had an uphill battle because of a misconception with “the older generation” who had their “heads stuck in the sand” and viewed gaming negatively.

Rather than kids sitting in a dark bedroom for hours with the curtains drawn, gaming events get kids, who might not be interested in traditional sports, out interacting with other people, Wards said.

He pulled together enough funding to buy 20 computers for multiplay use and has hosted gaming events at South Alive and the Invercargill Library in Invercargill, and the Gore RSA.

He said the feedback from parents who had previously struggled to get their children out of the house had been encouraging.

“Some of the letters I’ve got from parents are extraordinary. They had concerns for their [children’s] mental health and wellbeing because their confidence had been completely knocked.”

In December, Wards was named as one of 100 the Kiwibank Local Heroes for his work with youth.

Eighty spots will be available for competitors on both days of the tournament at ILT Stadium Southland.