A LONGTERM GAIN
THE Gold Coast is set to nab a slice of the $180 billion video game market as part of an Australianfirst esport alliance.
Bond University has signed a deal with the country’s most successful esport club, The Chiefs, to open pathways for talented competitive gamers. Sports Gold Coast chairman Geoff Smith said the city could reap the benefits of esport but “must be strategic’’ in a rapidly evolving industry.
THE Gold Coast is set to nab a slice of the $180 billion video game market as part of an Australian-first esport alliance.
Bond University has signed a deal with the country’s most successful esport club, The Chiefs, to open pathways for talented competitive gamers.
The collaboration, which includes tournaments and internships, is aimed at developing the domestic esports sector and forging a path for competitive gamers on the Gold Coast in an industry predicted to generate $450 billion by 2025.
Sports Gold Coast chairman Geoff Smith said his organisation worked with Bond, Gold Coast City Council and others for 18 months “advising on the opportunities in this dynamic and uncharted area of sport”.
“Esport was used as an exhibition sport at the Winter Olympics in Korea and was also used as a demonstration sport at both the Asian and ASEAN Games and is slated to be a demonstration sport at the Tokyo Olympics later this year,” he said.
“Australia is at least seven to eight years behind countries like Korea and China in this sport and industry.”
The alliance comes on the back of reports by the Bulletin that the State Government has been in talks with a promoter to build a boutique stadium on the Coast, which Mayor Tom Tate wants to include a retractable roof and facilities especially for the esports market.
Mr Smith said the city could reap the benefits of esport, but “must be strategic and learn from some of the costly mistakes made to date as the esport industry is evolving rapidly and what may seem to be the trend today will be completely different in 12 months”.
He said Sports Gold Coast had been advocating for an esport facility since 2015 and it was crucial the city “chooses the right location and invests in the right technology”.
“Any sports stadium built without esport facilities will be outdated by the time they are completed,” he said.
Mr Smith said a strategic plan partly funded by the council was completed in May last year and will help map how the city could take advantage.
Chiefs CEO Nick Bobir said: “It’s important for us to look to grow the next group of gamers and provide pathways. But there’s also the research aspect. We’re looking forward to working closely with the team at Bond and really diving deep into gamers in general, potentially looking at things like nutrition and psychology.”
Bond’s venture into esports ramped up when it opened its state-of-the-art esports hub last year. It includes a training and coaching facility, gaming machines and streaming to the university’s 500-seat theatre.
Pros at the top of their game can rake in millions of dollars in the boom industry.