![(Allied Esports/YSW Design & Architecture)](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/esports2_041217-e1492029769173-1.jpg?resize=800%2C600)
Developers are betting on an eSports arena for the Las Vegas Strip.
On Wednesday, Allied ESports and ESports Arena unveiled their plans to build a 30,000-square-foot venue. The deal, struck with MGM Resorts, converts a nightclub at the Luxor Hotel into a “multi-level venue” with a competition stage, daily gaming machines, and studios for streaming and television broadcasts.
The venue will be the go-to destination for international eSports tournaments and hopes to be as iconic for that scene as Madison Square Garden or Wembley Stadium, the venture said in a press release.
![(Allied Esports/YSW Design & Architecture)](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/esports1_041217-1.jpg?resize=800%2C600)
ESports Area Las Vegas will open its doors sometime in 2018. It will be the city’s second eSports venue. The first is planned for the Downtown Grand hotel, according to Engadget.
Gambling in the city isn’t as much of a pay-off as it once was. Vegas took a hit in 2016 due to younger visitors avoiding the electronic gambling machines, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
However, the eSports venues and the recent NHL and NFL franchises moving to Nevada might turn that trend around.
—RealClearLife
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.