Work America Capital Management, a Houston-based venture capital firm, will be investing big into esports following an Overwatch League launch party. The new plan: a $70 million, 120,000 square-foot tech startup complex dubbed “The Cannon” that includes a built-in esports arena. This complex will be part of a larger Work America Capital campus called the Founders’ District, according to the Houston Chronicle.

“Esports provides a strategic investment source for companies looking to attract younger, tech-savvy consumers,” writes the Houston Chronicle’s Ileana Najarro. “At the Founders’ District, esports will serve as a perk for young tech entrepreneurs looking for office space and access to mentorship and venture funding.”

Much of those details come from one such entrepreneur—Chris Buckner, the founder of one of Work America Capital’s Houston tech portfolio companies, FanReact. Buckner also adds that he views most esports professionals, including players and fans, as entrepreneurs themselves: “There’s no joking around anymore… This is serious business.”

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]This is esports going mainstream the right way.[/perfectpullquote]

Work America Capital’s co-founder, Mark Toon, also provided details on the facility, noting that in addition to a substantial startup incubator, The Cannon will have temporary housing, a gym and football field, retail space, and even restaurants. The arena itself will serve as a rallying point for fans and competitive hotspot for players.

Tracking Work America Capital’s interest in esports is a tad complicated, but essentially started in 2014 when Buckner launched FanReact as a sports social media app. Buckner’s company pivoted to esports after its 2016 acquisition by Work America Capital, and last year acquired two esports tournament organizers. FanReact plans to launch a new esports aggregation site this spring called Mainline.

It was a recent Mainline promotion event that may have inadvertantly kicked off Work America Capital’s sudden investment into Houston’s local esports scene. Last week, Blizzard Entertainment’s vaunted Overwatch League kicked off. As one of the few cities hosting an OWL franchise, Buckner thought it would be a good idea to host a viewing party for his city’s Houston Outlaws, and got local event management company NGAGE on board as well.

Buckner expected around 100 people. Over 600 showed up.



Despite just a week on the field, the Houston Outlaws (owned by Dallas-based esports organization OpTic Gaming) clearly already has dedicated fans. Work America Capital, in turn, is now building them a home. Factoring in the additional interest that the esports arena could bring to Work America Capital’s Founders’ District tech hub makes for a clear win.

Esports getting mainstream attention has been a thing for a while. However, the investment by Work America Capital here is notable both due to the seemingly-natural motive of providing a service for an unexpectedly large local fanbase, and because of esports’ function as a value-added feature of a tech hub. This is esports going mainstream the right way.

This article has been updated to clarify between the esports arena, The Cannon, and Founders’ District.