The US can proudly state that it now has yet another dedicated eSports Arena! Arnold Marquez, the owner of this arena in Oklahoma City, is the owner of second eSports Arena in the country. The other eSports Arena in the US being one appropriately named “The eSports Arena” in Santa Ana, CA.
This new arena in Oklahoma City, named “RTZ eSports Arena”, was transformed by Marquez from part of the Cactus Jack’s Arcade at N.W. 10th and Council. The arena will feature forty gaming stations in which both individuals and teams can compete in video game competitions. The arena also features soundproof rooms and a place for announcers to do play-by-play casting, which will be streamed during tournaments much like ELEAGUE and other big eSports events.
Marquez isn’t new to the eSports Tournament world. He has hosted tournaments at Cactus Jack’s before, by arranging a collection of computers and offering $8,000 in prize money. The event attracted players from outside of the US as well, which gave Marquez a sign that he was doing something right and he should create a permanent home for his competition. Marquez had the following to say about his establishment:
“It’s socially acceptable to be a gamer and say I make my living playing video games. You get hyper focused when you play a video game, especially a competitive video game. Sky’s the limit on the future of gaming.”
Perhaps the increasing amount of arenas paired together with mainstream eSports on TV, will attract more people to the area. That, combined with the growing amount of sponsors is sure to help with the growth of eSports.
He has also announced that he plans to open another arena this summer in the Phoenix area, making it the third one in the country. The RTZ eSports Arena plans to open on Thursday, August 4th.
