PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A new state-of-the-art esports gaming center is coming to Philadelphia.
Nerd Street Gamers is building the 40,000-square foot facility on North Broad Street, which will be open to all gamers. The building, called "The Block," will house the company's global headquarters, as well as a 20,000-square foot esports training center.
The Block will also host esports tournaments and gaming camps.
"Video games are really just the start," said Nerd Street Gamers CEO John Fazio. He said the company plans to use the facility to bridge an economic gap in the games industry.
"Video games are a means for us to get a kid in and get them using a PC and a keyboard and a mouse, and getting them familiar with socializing in person, and communicating and camaraderie and team work," he said.
"It's the same thing we get from sports but the benefit here is that we're doing it on something that's also used for all of your steam learning, science, technology and the rest of these disciplines use computers. So the more we can get these kids familiar with computers, the more likely they are to be successful with their careers that now require that type of technology access."
The company broke ground on the building Thursday. Fazio said accessibility is a major goal for the new facility, for kids and gamers across all socioeconomic backgrounds. The Block is expected to provide high-speed internet and equipment for users.
"This facility is all about bringing people in person so they can do it face to face and also providing affordable access for the equipment necessary to participate, because a lot of people in our industry do not have access," he said.
"They're playing on older consoles, they're playing last year's game, they're playing on internet that might not be of the quality that is required to compete."