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Major League Gaming is teaming up with two other companies to build its first dedicated arena, in a tourist city near Hong Kong, to open in 2017, the eSports series announced this week.
MLG called the arena, to be built on Hengqin Island, "a true stadium and the first of its time," in an interview with onGamers. Hengqin is a tourist destination in a special economic district, south of Macau and west of the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong.
The new arena is to be located in what will be called the "V-Zone," envisioned as the centerpiece of an $18 billion "Creative Culture City" project for the island. In addition to the arena, the are will feature space for video game expositions, as well as gaming-themed shops and restaurants.
"This is yet another step in our plan to make eSports and MLG a part of mainstream culture worldwide," MLG president Mike Sepso said in a statement.
MLG is partnering with two other corporations, Lai Fung Holdings Limited and eSun Holdings Limited, to develop the arena and site.
Recently, China lifted a 14-year-old ban on gaming consoles, though in just offered a long list of restrictions that games themselves must pass if they're to be offered for sale there.
