New Esports Arena Las Vegas Is Designed for Flexibility; Hosts Record-Setting Fortnite Tourney Allied Esports' approach enables quick conversion for different game styles By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, May 1, 2018 - 11:30 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
The relationship between esports and the event-production community continues to expand in new directions, and the most recent new direction is Las Vegas, where Allied Esports has opened Esports Arena, a 30,000-sq.-ft. venue and production studio in the Luxor Hotel and Casino. And it's not stopping there: on May 12, another facility will open in Oakland, giving it three in the U.S. (Santa Ana, CA, was the first) in addition to arenas in Beijing and Shenzhen, China, and Hamburg, Germany.
Head of Content Drew Ohlmeyer sees a real opportunity for Allied Esports to be a force. Many of the game studios and arenas are built for a specific game title or game publisher, but the Allied Esports model is open to all, giving its production team a chance to quickly become experts in a multitude of game styles.
Esports Arena Las Vegas celebrated its grand opening in March.
We've done seven nights of shows, and we've done five different games while most other production groups are doing one game for long periods of time, he says. This is a unique opportunity to get good at doing a lot of different games, and that will pay off down the road.
The arena is modular, allowing the space to be transformed to fit any game. Player pods, for example, can be set up on the stage for one-on-one battles or any configuration up to six vs. six. In creating the stage, Jeff Hall Design Group designed a row in the back where the pods are tucked away when not being used.
It doesn't take long to reconfigure, Ohlmeyer explains. The pods are all in the back of the stage as scenery so we can pull them out as needed.
The arena's grand opening highlighted the flexibility of the space, with three games played. Smite, Dragonball, and Rocket League each required a different configuration, and getting the stage ready for the next competition takes only 20 minutes.
This past weekend, the arena hosted an event around the game Fortnite: Ninja Vegas 18. Ninja is the superstar of the game, with 1.76 million followers. Fortnite is a multiplayer game with as many as 100 people competing in the same match, and close to 750 people turned out for the event (capacity is 1,200). The arena floor had 75 gaming stations, allowing 233 competitors (including Ninja) to compete in three separate heats.
The arena is designed for people to play, so there is a constant balance between how many people are on the floor and its being a spectator event, says Ohlmeyer. We also have two bar areas and a couple hundred seats on the second level, which is a dynamic space.
The back-of-house area of Esports Arena features a 1,000-sq.-ft. studio.
The back-of-house area includes a production-control room, a 1,000-sq.-ft. studio, and an observer area. CBT Systems was involved with much of the project, with President Darrell Wenhardt guiding the engineering and facility build. Ohlmeyer and Wenhardt began working together when the NFL Network launched its facility.
The arena's technical-productions elements include a front-of-house system and a broadcast/streaming system.
The two systems share core equipment, according to Wenhardt, including an Evertz 3-Gbps HD-SDI video and IP/AV router, Lawo audio router, AJA and Ross video processing, Riedel intercoms, and an Evertz KVM system.
Both systems also share Sony cameras with Canon lenses and Panasonic robotic cameras and Shure wireless mics and IFB systems, he adds. Another common element is the Lawo audio consoles for both front-of-house and broadcast production, both sharing the resources of Lawo compact stage boxes and Lawo audio routing.
A Grass Valley switcher for broadcast and a Ross switcher for streaming support a combined five channels of program release. Broadcast monitors are from Sony; other displays in the venue are from LG.
We went with the Grass Valley Karrera production switcher because we need the flexibility to do a bunch of different things, Ohlmeyer explains. All the pods and communications are wired with player cams so you can tap into the conversations between the players. An Evertz router is also a key component, as there are more than two dozen cameras and feeds coming in. We also have an Abekas Mira for playback and a robocam operator.
The observer area is key to the show, allowing four or five observers to watch the game, keep track of the action, and help guide the production.
We're proud of the facility, says Ohlmeyer, noting, We took what works in traditional TV into account. We also made a point to have the A1 and audio with a window so they could look into the production-control room; it helps them do their job properly. And we have a JitaCam that we used on the opening, but we think we will keep it, because [the shots it gets] look really cool.
The front-of-house tech ensures that fans in the venue have a great experience, thanks to a Ross Carbonite switcher with a hybrid Ross Expression and Reality Check/Vizrt graphic engines that pixel-maps images to the arena's DST LED screens. The house PA is all-Harman, with JBL speakers, Crown amplifiers, and BSS digital-audio processing.
With the combined power of the front-of-house and production tech, Ohlmeyer believes, the arena will prove attractive to a lot of publishers.
We have a broadcast-quality production facility without the need to rent a truck or infrastructure, and it is a one-stop shopping experience, he adds. We also provide all the staff and are looking to produce original content for the publishers as well.
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
23/10/2025
A deadline is looming for a new carriage deal between Verizon's Fios TV and Nexstar, with both Verizon and the pay TV-backed American Television Alliance bl...
23/10/2025
NEW YORK During a high-profile session at NAB Show New York, new survey data was shared that revealed significant public concern over artificial intelligence (A...
23/10/2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. and NEW YORK Fox Weather has tapped T-Mobile has as its preferred communications provider and announced that all Fox Weather reporters are being...
23/10/2025
PBS and Amazon Web Services have announced the network is using generative AI to provide enhanced search results to viewers on the PBS App and PBS LearningMedia...
22/10/2025
Prime Video Inks Deal To Present NFL Black Friday Game Worldwide By SVG Staff
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - 10:06 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story ...
22/10/2025
NBA Tip-Off: ESPN Goes 1080p HDR End-to-End, Flipping HDR Switch on REMI and REM...
22/10/2025
FloSports Empowers Division II, III Athletic Departments With Turnkey Production...
22/10/2025
Wall Street Video Summit Debuts, Bringing Together 200 Financial Enterprise Vide...
22/10/2025
Dueling Pianos: International Chopin Piano Competition Is as Competitive as a Ba...
22/10/2025
In 1995, a young Colombian artist released an album that would change Latin pop ...
22/10/2025
Over the past few months, a photovoltaic system has been installed on a three-he...
22/10/2025
The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis II mission is stacked on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kenn...
22/10/2025
L3Harris' Hybrid SATCOM is resilient by design, offering path diversity that eliminates vulnerabilities by routing data across the best available networks i...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. Organizers of NAB Show New York said they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countries along with 260 exhibitor...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, supplied an extensive gear package of professional-grade equipment for ...
22/10/2025
Lightware, a global leader in signal management and AV connectivity solutions, is seeing strong market momentum for the UCX-3x3-TPX-RX20, a compact transmitter-...
22/10/2025
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron has released PAINT 10.2, the latest update for its telestration platform, adding support for SMPTE ST 2110 IP workflows, expanding brandin...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON Run3TV today said NBCUniversal is joining as an investor in the ATSC 3.0 Framework Authority, which develops the Run3TV NextGen TV application platfo...
22/10/2025
ATLANTA swXtch.io will feature two new networking solutions extending the company's reach across more cloud and on-prem workflows at NAB Show New York, set ...
22/10/2025
The Warner Bros. Discoverys HBO Max streaming services has increased prices for all its streaming tiers effectively immediately for new customers. Existing cust...
22/10/2025
LOS ANGELES OpenDrives has signed a new distribution partnership deal with Versatile Distribution Services (VDS) to strengthen its channel and streamline how it...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Samora Pinderhughes Brings Immersive Sound to Berklee's Signature Series The artist and composer, who's worked with Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Co...
22/10/2025
BMI Day at Berklee Celebrates Composer Fil Eisler and Awards Scholarship to Stud...
22/10/2025
October 22nd, 2025 TRIBECA ANNOUNCES STAR-STUDDED LINEUP OF MEMBERSHIP EVENTS F...
22/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF cooperate in drone defense Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF partner to deliver a comprehensive drone defense solution combining Rohde & S...
22/10/2025
European Broadcaster Upgrades To Grass Valley's NativeIP LDX 135 Cameras And...
22/10/2025
Everyone Gets a Better Deal on Verizon with New FOX One Perk The $15 FOX One streaming service perk is yet another way Verizon continues to add savings for cu...
22/10/2025
First Look Hidden Assets Series 3
Premieres on 9th November 9:30pm on RT One & RT Player
WATCH HERE Promo Link: Hidden Assets Series 3 | RT
The Crimin...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Although AES Show Is on Its Own, Audio Will Be a Major Part o...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Business of Broadcast and Media,' Future of Content'...
21/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Ethan Folz, Senior Director, Digital Operations and Quality of Ex...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: Livestream Offers Graphic Overlays, Predictive Gaming, Ancil...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: At the Front Bench With Producer Frank DiGraci and Director ...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: NBC Sports, NEP Build Ultra-Flexible Production Plan That Se...
21/10/2025
Indigenous storytelling has been at the heart of the work of the Sundance Instit...
21/10/2025
Top L-R: Mysterious Skin, American Dream Second Row L-R: Little Miss Sunshine, D...
21/10/2025
Last week, Spotify and Columbia Records transformed Pier 4 at the Brooklyn Army ...
21/10/2025
SBS Learn's Dharug Ngurra resource empowers classrooms to meaningfully celeb...
21/10/2025
As global operators simplify and evolve their digital platforms, NPS improvement...
21/10/2025
Critical Design Review completion is a key milestone on the path toward Wideband Global Satellite Communications certification for the network in 2026, opening ...
21/10/2025
New Australian undersea training range to implement and improve warfighting tactics, proficiency and safety; enable joint/allied training that contributes to pr...
21/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
21/10/2025
September, the beginning of autumn, brought an expected revival to the TV market, largely due to the new fall TV schedules. The time spent in front of the TV sc...
21/10/2025
Broadcast Booms with 20% Uptick vs. August, Achieving Largest Monthly
Increase ...
21/10/2025
During September, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.5%, a marginal shift of -0.5 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YU...
21/10/2025
RENNES, France BBright and GlobalM have conducted a technical trial validating Ultra HD interoperability across the entire contribution chain in the cloud, achi...
New Esports Arena Las Vegas Is Designed for Flexibility; Hosts Record-Setting Fortnite Tourney Allied Esports' approach enables quick conversion for different game styles By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
