Blizzard Arena Los Angeles to host Overwatch League and Contenders Finals

#1

kerr

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Seems very small, only 450 seats.

#3

majkel1893

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dead game small crowd simple as that :p
the only good thing that its a blizzard game so it will always have tournaments like SC2- HOTS - HSTONE

#4

KuroiRyuu9625

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It does, though I think it makes sense for Contenders and OWL Season 1 since I feel like it's an appropriate amount of seats for what is essentially a new platform.

Looking forward to seeing what Contenders looks like and what it'll mean for venue size going forward.

#2

remiska

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about size and comapring it to sydney owc qualifier
(copy from thread on this topic coz im too lazy to write it again)

according to this: https://www.star.com.au/sites/default/files/The%20Star%20Fact%20Sheet_Event%20Centre.pdf
depending on which level of star center was used for sydney qualifier it could fit from 200 to nearly 1000 viewers so it wa bigger then new blizzard arena

edit: i looked closer at diagrams and i think room A was used and if we asume "cabaret" style sitting it fits 344 sits but because room b is connected to room a that would bump the number of sits to 550 in cabaret style so overrall blizzard venue should be simillar in size, maybe a little bit smaller

#5

Pixelfish

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I think it's good starting off in a smaller venue, and hopefully by season 2, OWL teams will have their own home "stadiums". (Obviously not full stadiums, but you know what I mean).

#6

NotShade

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Did you guys expect the stadium to be as big as the Staples Center? Turn down your expectations guys, esports is starting to get big, but it still isn't THAT big. Can't find the capacity online, but the NA LCS studio probably have around that, does that mean LoL is a dead game? :P

#7

remiska

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esport IS this big, i watch cs go and every year fans fill arenas like lanxess arena (19 000) or spodek arena (11 500) just for referance Staples Center - 21 000
overwatch on the other hand isnt that big

edit: and what mate under me said

#11

NotShade

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You're delusional.

You're comparing with events that happen once a year, and often times, in different cities each year.
OWL will be 3 times a week. In the same city.

Again, just think about the LCS. 450 seats is quite alright.

#13

robokun87

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450 seats ain't the issue it's how many viewers we get, if we end up with 450 seats barely getting filled and about 20k viewers for these matches then it ain't looking good is it, those CS events are yearly sure but even the league matches online every week get more viewers and they don't have such ambitious plans like this, makes me wonder what these big guys putting £20m are getting out of the OWL unless something drastic happens in the next 4 years and we get 15k people in attendance and 100k watching at home. Then again there's more chance of world war 3 happening first.

#8

slimcharles

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Key Arena fills its seats (17,459) every year for eSports.

#9

penda

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Yeah every year, it wouldn't fill nearly as many if it had games every week

#10

Pixelfish

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That's why Blizzard is starting off with a smaller venue in one location. Then individual teams have the ability to expand.

#12

harsha

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By the way, LCS has 200 seats at most and they're on fucking folding metal chairs. That is the BIGGEST esport. Don't know what people are complaining about.

Remember that this is temporary and only for S1 of OWL.

#14

Involv3r

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Let's see, CS has been out for 14 years. Overwatch is not even 18 months in.

Do you think CS built the fanbase it has today a year after release ? What OWL brings to esports is very different from anything seen before.
So yes, maybe scepticism is warranted in this case. But you're just being plain negative without any educated study on the case.
And the big guys that put in the 20Mil surely took their time before making the decision, they're not flipping a coin on whether to join in on it without having good odds on OWL succeeding.

#15

Pixelfish

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Oh Robokun good ol' Robokun. You're basing you're opinions on 18 months worth of overwatch events that have nowhere even touched the scale of what OWL is going to be. It's truly impossible to predict viewership yet becusse we haven't seen what Blizzard has in mind for marketing, and how they're going to advertise this brand new, international sports league. It may start off slow, but it will expand. Just give it time my dude.

#16

KuroiRyuu9625

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~~Oh Robokun good ol' Robokun.~~ You're basing you're opinions on 18 months worth of overwatch events that have nowhere even touched the scale of what OWL is going to be. It's truly impossible to predict viewership yet because we haven't seen what Blizzard has in mind for marketing, and how they're going to advertise this brand new, international sports league. It may start off slow, but it will expand. Just give it time my dude.

Fixed it for you, now you seem like less of a condescending teenager, though I agree with your overall argument.

450 seats ain't the issue it's how many viewers we get, if we end up with 450 seats barely getting filled and about 20k viewers for these matches then it ain't looking good is it, those CS events are yearly sure but even the league matches online every week get more viewers and they don't have such ambitious plans like this, makes me wonder what these big guys putting £20m are getting out of the OWL unless something drastic happens in the next 4 years and we get 15k people in attendance and 100k watching at home. Then again there's more chance of world war 3 happening first.

Pitting a game that's a bit over one year old against a very long standing game like CS doesn't make for realistic comparison imo. I do think their are several questions to be asked and issues to be ironed out but those big guys putting in the money means they believe it will be worth it. They obviously have more information and expertise than we do so while a healthy amount of skepticism is needed, I think we'd do well not to assume we know more/better than they do. We're not the ones that have made millions.

#17

Pixelfish

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Lol dude relax I only said it because Robokun and i have a long, fascinating history.
You may have almost 3 stars but that doesn't make you a mod.

#18

KuroiRyuu9625

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You're correct, I've never claimed I was, and stars have nothing to do with it because, as you said, I'm not a mod.

This isn't about you, I just value respect, regardless of the message being conveyed. And Hopefully we can keep threads from devolving into fling fests.

#19

Pixelfish

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I get what you're saying my dude but the only reason I said it is because it's robokun and you should know that him and I are best buds if you've payed attention to our interactions

#20

victococoblazin

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I expect F/As to sit out the arena during the event looking like homeless people holding up signs saying LFT OWL and their twitlonger resume

#21

KuroiRyuu9625

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Tier 1 only .

#22

robokun87

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We all look at it from different points of views but mine is games have more chance of being popular when they are new since they have built up a lot of interest, don't forget OW had a closed then open beta as well so the game has been out long enough to warrant more than 15k viewers watching the best in the world, I don't know exactly how many players OW has but it is millions right? yet only a very small fraction of them turn in to watch the e-sports side of it so my question is, where are all these viewers going to come from? the game probably won't build up much more of a player base now since it's not very often games work that way.

Do you think granny and grandad sitting at home in Texas will suddenly turn into the OWL because Blizzard advertise it? I honestly can't remember Valve advertising CS too much even in the 1.5 days yet it was still popular, sure CS is 15 years old or whatever but that too was new at a time when e-sports wasn't anywhere near as big as it is now so no excuses.

People always come to this forum with such positivity but it's not based on anything yet me being on the other side of the fence is just a negative nancy who gets downvoted, how do you all know I'm wrong? how can you honestly sit there and say you're right? it's easy to sit here and say OWL will be the biggest success in e-sports and will eventually fill 15k arenas and get 200k viewers yet it's just as easy to sit here and say it will flop, if that hurts your feelings then tough shit, we have different opinions don't cry because mine isn't the same as yours.

It's also incredibly naive to think a bit of advertising solves the problem and makes the world go around, companies all over the world spend millions of dollars and years on advertising, go and ask all them if it worked but hey I'm wrong as always eh, I will happily eat my words when OWL blows up until then stop assuming it will because you WANT it to.

#23

KuroiRyuu9625

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It's still a fact that the game is very young, and infrastructure in the earlier days really wasn't their to support it as an eSport imo. So no, I don't believe adding the beta phases warrants more than 15k people watching when it was really was more geared towards being accessible and fun to play.

You know full well that OWL isn't geared towards the demographic you just listed. As per Nate himself the first Season isn't even looking to bring in non OW fans, just the ones that already know the game but that might not know it as an eSport. I think you're discounting the effect that being a pioneer in eSports has. What CS was able to build didn't get done overnight and the legacy it carries means a lot. As eSports grew so did the scene, so yes, I think it does matter quite a bit.

There's opinions form both sides. And for the same reason you don't see why people are "positive" some don't see why you're "negative". I've mentioned this a lot but without enough information and expertise to make an educated and informed analysis we have to default to a side. I'm in the opinion that all the money being pumped in from notable business men who know much more than we do is an indication that there's some manner of viability for this model.

Advertising doesn't guarantee anything, but without it you get nothing. I don't know what the OWL, or each individual team's campaigns will look like so that's not something I can speak on. I do however think that a lot of people hope it "blows up", more than they "assume" it will. Assumptions on either side can only be speculation because again, unless anyone has insider information or a magic ball, no one actually knows.

I don't think you're wrong in being skeptical of the league's success, I also don't think you can call others wrong for believing it will succeed. My reason for not assuming it's downfall is that I chose to defer the business people and the large amount of capital that's being put in, but I'm also aware that mismanagement is a thing so I don't assume it'll be a raging success.

#24

Pixelfish

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Honestly I'm fine with that. You can have your opinions and I have mine. I just hope I and the other positives end up being right, and I can come back here in a few years and have another discussion with you about how things turned out.

#25

Wake

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wew lads calm down

#26

Involv3r

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You take things personal. No one's calling you a nancy, your comment is negative. No one's saying OWL will be the biggest event business has ever seen. You're on the defensive cause we don't agree with what you're saying.

Also, what is your thought process for computing a time span that warrants x number of viewers ? Genuinely interested.
Overwatch sold 30+ million copies (including console) by April 2017, that's roughly a year after release (~11 months).
In comparison, CS GO has been out since Aug. 12 and by Oct. 16 has sold 25 million copies. Where did their viewers go ?

And if you think that Blizzard marketing is targeting 'granny and grandad' to watch OWL, I don't know what to say. I also don't see how a game having a 13 year lead on another game to build a fan base is an excuse :thinking: Enlighten me.

People always come to this forum with such positivity

Are you gonna give us the I'm a realist speech, is that it ? Cause nobody here knows how OWL will fare. There's a difference between optimism and blind positivity.

How do you all know I'm wrong?

Well, I mean, if a majority of people disagrees with you on a point you're trying to make, then maybe you're not making a good point. Stop thinking people are gunning for you.

And just to put your last paragraph in perspective, do you know how much companies paid to hold a commercial slot in the last Superbowl ? Almost 170 000 dollars. That's per second too. If companies spend millions of dollars on advertisement, it's for a good reason. You spend money to make more money.

I will happily eat my words

I wonder where I read this before :thinking:

#27

poi98

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War of the gods

#28

Pixelfish

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Poi98 is my only god Kreygasm

#29

poi98

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I am a good god who watch upper alla discussion...(anyway Pixelfish is my favourite adept)

#30

wentaway

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I don't see OW bigger than 1 year ago, maybe is just me, but see less people watching it online, more and more guys I know quit playing it.

OWL might very well change everything and be the winning bet Blizzard is hoping it to be, but there's something down below I don't like and I honestly think they do not understand: They do their own stuff they don't care too much about the actual community.

Who do you think are the best casters? I honestly don't think it's Doa and Monte, they are good, but no way close to the be the best.
Do you think the EU scene was dead before the announcement of an NA-only OWL 1st season? Nope it was the healthier of the 2 (NA and US).
Did Blizzard care at all for community/Esport known fanchises? Nope they went straight looking for the big money spenders/investors.

The real issue I see is, what will happen IF OWL doesn't achieve the goals of these non-esport investors?

#31

amtaco

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They're also using this venue to host Hearthstone and HoTS Events - more here. I certainly don't think it's a dead game. Blizzard is smart and they've got a big marketing campaign ready to launch in line with Blizzcon. They want to give teams time to get their local marketing together, they want to make sure the Arena is packed from the beginning. Come season two we'll be seeing bigger venues in each city, let alone just LA.

#32

evsub

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Looking forward going through Playoffs & Finals at this venue with Team EnVision :)