With an existing network of 25 esports arenas in the U.K., Belong Gaming Arenas has chosen the Houston area for its first U.S. location.
Belong Gaming Arenas will open the doors to its new 4,800-square-foot gaming arena in the Pearland Town Center on Aug. 6. The facility, designed by Houston's M+A Architects, will feature 48 gaming stations with access to high-spec PCs and new-generation consoles, as well as daily competitive programming and other social events, the company said.
Belong's Pearland location will be the first opening in a broader U.S. expansion, said Adam Rosenberg, the company's communications head. The firm has additional locations opening in Dallas; Nashville, Tennessee; Chicago; and Columbus, Ohio. Belong, a subsidiary of New York-based Vindex, aims to open 300 U.S. gaming centers over the coming five years.
"Esports has been growing and growing and growing, and Covid-19 supercharged it," Rosenberg said. "We're just trying to quench that consumer thirst and fill that need."
In conjunction with opening the Houston-area location, Belong is hosting a series of events with the Houston Outlaws this weekend. The arena will have free-to-play opportunities through the entire weekend. Community tournaments in popular titles — Call of Duty: Warzone, Valorant, and Overwatch — will dole out thousands of dollars in Belong gift cards. The Outlaws, the local team competing in the Overwatch League, will hold a private meet-and-greet with fans on Aug. 8.
The Outlaws are one of the only professional esports teams operating in the Houston region. Based out of The Woodlands, the team plays in the highest level of international Overwatch competition as a member of Blizzard's Overwatch League. Overwatch League players during the 2020 season earned a median salary of $92,000, up $10,000 from a year prior, the league said last year.
"Through this partnership with Belong, we’ll help bring gamers back together in this exciting, community-oriented, state-of-the art venue — and applaud Belong for making H-Town their first location," said Lori Burgess, COO of Beasley Esports, owner of the Houston Outlaws.
Separately, Pearland Town Center is adding another retail tenant Labor Day weekend — BLCK Market's flagship 3,000-square-foot storefront, featuring vendors from 25 Black-owned businesses, will open at 11200 Broadway St., Suite #940. HCA Houston Healthcare, a division of Nashville-based HCA Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: HCA), opened its new HCA Healthcare Center for Clinical Advancement in Pearland Town Center late last month.
