On July 31, The Madison Square Garden Company confirmed it had purchased a controlling stake in Counter Logic Gaming. This is the first major investment for the New York-based based sports and events company, known not only for its eponymous arena in New York, but also as owners of the Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre, plus sports teams including the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.

The Esports Observer spoke to Jordan Solomon, executive vice president of the Madison Square Garden Sports division, about its CLG acquisition and continued esports expansion.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”We’ve seen firsthand that esports tournaments and competitions are some of the more compelling up-and-coming events.”[/perfectpullquote]

MSG is the latest holding company to enter esports with both arena and sports team acquisitions. From your perspective, what is it about esports’ development that has attracted these particular investors, in such large numbers?

I won’t speculate on why other sports teams are getting involved in the esports industry, but for Madison Square Garden, we recognize that esports is clearly one of the most dynamic categories in sports and entertainment, which we believe is poised for significant growth in the coming years.

Over the last several years, we have witnessed the power and passion of esports. Since 2014, MSG has hosted seven major esports events across its venues in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston, including multiple sold-out League of Legends events at The Garden.

As an organization, we actively explore opportunities that strengthen and expand our live event offerings and leverage our core capabilities in operating sports teams. We’ve seen firsthand that esports tournaments and competitions are some of the more compelling up-and-coming events and want to be a part of that by participating in the further development of hosting events and team franchising.

With the upcoming franchised NA LCS, Overwatch League, and NBA 2K Eleague, investments such as MSG’s are under heavy scrutiny by the esports fans and the media. From a PR perspective, how does the company respond to speculation over the company’s longterm plans in esports?

This is an ideal time for us to invest in esports, as the industry is evolving to more closely resemble other professional sports like the NBA and NHL – enabling us to share our significant expertise and experience and help develop this exciting industry.

MSG will leverage our deep capabilities and decades of experience in sports team business operations to support the growth of CLG’s business and esports as an industry. We will focus on bringing new marketing partners, expanding digital content, growing media revenue, and creating ticketed events based in New York to drive growth of the popularity of the sport.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”We will focus on bringing new marketing partners, expanding digital content, growing media revenue, and creating ticketed events based in New York.”[/perfectpullquote]

Why specifically did you invest with Counter Logic Gaming? What attributes about the team matched up with MSG’s ideals and your vision of moving into esports?

Counter Logic Gaming is one of the oldest, most accomplished organizations in the industry. Led by George Georgallidis, he and the CLG team have a strong track record of entrepreneurship and success, including winning the 2015 North American League of Legends Championship Summer Series in Madison Square Garden.

They have built a championship culture across their organization both within their teams and their business operations that we admire and believe fits well with our ideals and vision. Moreover, CLG has a passionate worldwide fan base that includes millions of dedicated fans across multiple social media and online platforms. This provides MSG with an enhanced exposure to a younger audience and a great starting point for our entry into the esports space.

Back in 2015, MSG hosted the NA LCS 2015 Summer Split final at the Madison Square Gardens. Can you talk more about that esports event? What were the company’s major takeaways?

The first esports event that Madison Square Garden ever held was actually in October 2014 in the Theater at MSG, but the NA LCS 2015 Summer Split final was the first esports competition we ever held in the World’s Most Famous Arena and it could have not been more successful and eye opening. The fans are rabid and enthusiastic and it showed us that esports was ready to command sports’ biggest stage.

Anyone who was in the Arena over those two days could see the passion and knew that the esports industry and fan base was special. Subsequent events we’ve hosted only reinforced our interest and excitement about the industry – the noise level of the fans was deafening, the excitement leading up to the event was huge.

Right now there is a trend for stadium-owners to develop their own dedicated esports spaces. Is this a venture that MSG has considered?

We believe we already have several leading esports venues, including Madison Square Garden, the Theater at the Garden, The Forum in LA, and the Chicago Theatre and we look forward to hosting many more events in the future.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”The initial reaction to CLG on social media from people who live in New York City has been that they want them to be their local team.”[/perfectpullquote]

New York City, like Las Vegas and Los Angeles, is rapidly developing as an esports business and events hub. Does MSG have further plans at this point to grow the city’s local ecosystem?

Our aspiration is for CLG to be a strong brand in New York and for CLG to be a New York esports organization. The initial reaction to CLG on social media from people who live in New York City has been that they want them to be their local team. We intend to invest meaningful time and energy to build out fandom and awareness here in New York City.

As esports explores the advantages of localizing teams and moving to a geography-based model, we plan to leverage our tremendous presence in the New York metropolitan market to generate new opportunities and increased exposure for CLG

We look forward to planning CLG events for fans in NYC, and from around the globe – including meet and greets, practices, etc.