The Overwatch League: Selling the Stadium Dream, Part Three: We Call it Home





Image by Artem Ermakov via Flickr

It has been a long road to get here my friends but we have finally arrived. In part one, we discussed some of the most attractive unaffiliated cities in North America. In part two, we sought out the same for the rest of the globe. Here now, in part three, we will discuss cities who have already tied the knot (at least to some degree) with an established esports organization.

“I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.” – Maya Angelou





There is something we need to make clear from the onset: None of the soon to be mentioned partnerships have stated that these pairings are intended specifically for the OWL. However, I think it is more than fair to come to a cursory conclusion that these will, in fact, be some of the cities / teams involved in the OWL that kicks off later this year.

Let's waste no more time, shall we? I think an appropriate place to start is not only one of the first cities to form a pairing, but, in my personal opinion, as a person who is quite familiar with this city, one of the biggest (and most pleasant) surprises….

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.



Team Partnership: Dignitas / 76ers

Population: 6.1 million

Possible OWL Major Venues: Wells Fargo Center, The Palestra, Citizen’s Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field



I almost came unglued when I saw this announcement. See, I may be an Indiana kid but my uncle was a Philly beat-cop on Broad Street for over 30 years. He, being a guy who never had kids of his own and a die-hard fan of dem Philadelphia Flyers, jumped at the chance to indoctrinate me into the Philly sports scene. I used to get a box of VHS tapes every couple of months with every Flyers game recorded for my viewing pleasure (yes, I’m old.) It was glorious, and it taught me a very important lesson about this city…

Philly lives for their sports teams. Granted, it is most definitely a love-hate relationship in the city of brotherly love. You can’t sit down in a sports bar anywhere in this city without finding a person or two wearing a two-decades-old Eagles jersey breaking into a profanity-laced tirade about the sheer idiocy of every move, and every player, involved with that team while simultaneously swearing that he’s “Done with the ******* iggles for good.” All while ordering another drink, never taking his eyes off the screen and telling Morty (from around the block) that he’d see him next week when the game wraps up.





Image courtesy of Philadelphia 76ers Flickr

Ladies and gentlemen, THAT is Philly. Dignitas will have one hell of an uphill battle winning the hearts (and even the notice) of the Philly locals. They will worship a winner, and tar-and-feather a loser, but they will never, EVER leave you once you’ve found a place in their lives. If you win in Philly, you will never call another place "home."

Seeing pro Overwatch in the city I have come to love, at “The Well”, with Flyers banners hanging from the rafters, cheesesteak and beer in hand? Be still my beating heart.

Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.A.



Team Partnership: NRG / Events D.C.

Population: 6.0 million

Possible OWL Major Venues: Verizon Center, National’s Park, FedExField, Planned (unnamed) arena



I think there was little doubt that our nation’s capital would be excluded from the OWL. The esports scene in D.C. is lit, it is a city that has long been a center of tourism, it is a city that is showing very high growth and the venues of the city are spectacular. Couple that with the fact that, in the D.C. / NRG partnership announcement, the plans for a brand new sixty-five million dollar, 4000+ capacity arena tailored for esports were revealed, and you have as close to a certainty as we can get at this point in time.

Now, to be fair, NRG has stated that this announcement does not necessarily mean that NRG will represent D.C. in the OWL. I am perfectly comfortable in saying that this is fairly high on the bullshit-ometer. You do not make a grand announcement of partnering with our nation’s capital, big showy interviews with Seagull etc. included, splashing the D.C. Events logo on all your streamers' overlays, then go represent Omaha in OWL. Stop it. We’re not that naïve.

That little rant aside, this is a huge pickup for both sides. NRG is, far and away, the most popular Overwatch team in the scene. D.C. is a city, as previously mentioned, that is growing rapidly and has been the home of a major sports club in all the big-four for years now. I think this is a fantastic pairing that will pay extraordinary dividends for the local D.C. esports scene.

Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.



Team Partnership: Renegades

Population: 4.3 million

Possible OWL Major Venues: Little Caesar’s Arena, Ford Field, Comerica Par

The Detroit Renegades, man, it just kind of rolls off the tongue does it not? A team with attitude, coupled with a city with attitude. It is about as perfect of a match as you can get, considering the fact that a team name like The Detroit Badasses might be looked down upon for many social reasons unfortunately.





Image courtesy of Detroit Renegades Team Site

This one is a bit of a conundrum however. No “official” partnership has been announced with the city, yet they carry the Detroit name in their title. They do, however, have a partnership with not one, but two, major corporations that are headquartered in Detroit (DxRacer and 5-hour Energy.) Given all of that, I think it is safe to say that if we see Renegades in the OWL, it will almost certainly be in the city of Detroit, Michigan.

A city, mind you, that has gone through some very tough times as of late. Population has been dropping, jobs have been leaving and the city has gone through a bankruptcy. But, knowing the people of Detroit like I do, if there is any blue-collar, Midwest, hardhats-and-lunchpails city that can come back from these kinds of hardships, its Motor City. In fact, the bounce back has already begun in many respects.

With the opening of the 650 million dollar Little Caesar’s Arena coming later this year (it looks to be a stunning venue btw) and the fact that Detroit has been a sports crazy town since the dawn of time (They call it Hockeytown for a reason) I find this pairing to be phenomenal and I hope the city of Detroit gets a little bit of much welcomed news in the near future in the form of an OWL team.

Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.



Team Partnership: Splyce / Boston Bruins

Population: 4.6 million

Possible Major OWL Venues: Boston Gardens, Fenway Park, Agganis Arena, Gillette Stadium



Beantown, a legendary city with an even more historic sports tradition. When the announcement came down that the Boston Bruins had purchased the controlling rights to Splyce, I found it extremely shocking that an NHL team would be one of the earliest vanguards into the esports / traditional sports partnership bonanza. The NHL has a reputation for being hard-nosed traditionalists and something like an esports partnership seemed like the furthest of possibilities. Color me surprised and color me ecstatic. Few names are bigger in the NHL than the black and gold and few arenas finer than Boston Gardens.





Image courtesy of Bruins Corner

There are fewer, more iconic, sports images than the Bruins’ fan banner making its way over the crowd. These are the kind of traditions that take a sport, and a team, from merely run-of-the-mill to household names. Esports, and the OWL in particular, need hooks exactly like this to be successful with the geo-location format in the long term.

Splyce will be playing for a city that expects a lot from its franchises, but gives far more in return. It is a city, and a home, fit for a king and I hope Splyce is capable of giving this city the results they deserve.

Miami, Florida, U.S.A.



Team Partnership: Misfits / Miami Heat

Population: 442,000

Possible Major OWL Venues: American Airlines Arena, Watsco Center, Hard Rock Stadium, Marlins Park



We bringin’ it back to South Beach. Back in January, the Miami Heat announced a formal partnership with Misfits. As far as locales go, I could think of few more attractive than the perfect beaches and legendary nightlife of one of the United States most iconic tourist destinations.

Being partnered with a perennial powerhouse in the NBA with multiple world titles to their name isn’t a half bad situation either. Can Misfits have the same amount of success? Only time will tell, but one thing that is not up for debate is that the esports atmosphere in Florida is electric and I fully believe that, especially with NBA backing, an OWL team here is not only inevitable, it is certainly poised to be a huge success.





Image courtesy of American Airlines Arena

Rome, Lazio, Italy



Team Partnership: Fnatic / AS Roma

Population: 4.2 million

Possible Major OWL Venues: PalaLottomatica, Stadio de la Roma, Stadio Olimpico



I’ll admit from the get-go that this one is a longshot, but the idea of a team being based in Rome is super intriguing and as we already have an announced partnership between AS Roma and Fnatic for the professional FIFA scene, why not extend that out to the OWL? PalaLotto is an absolutely ideal venue for esports hosting, Italy is already a sports crazed nation, and we have a partnership for another title already in place.

I am personally in love with this idea. When you talk about esports, the country of Italy is far too often left out of the conversation outside of the football circuit. It is well past time to increase the visibily of other titles in this country. I believe a Fnatic OWL team here would do marvelously, however slim the chance may be.





PalaLottomatica - Image by Marco via Flickr

Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.



Team Partnership: Rogue

Population: 1.9 million

Possible Major OWL Venues: T-Mobile Arena, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas Stadium



Sin City has been the source of major, frequent sports news as of late: The announcement of the Oakland Raiders move to the town, the NHL awarding Las Vegas an expansion team etc. Things are looking very, very bright for Las Vegas sports fans and I think Rogue would be insane not to take advantage of the opportunity. Rogue made the move from Europe to Las Vegas some time ago but have gone eerily silent since. Not in the result category, mind you, as they’re widely considered one of the top OW teams in the world right now. But on the business front, it’s an information lockdown.

Vegas has few peers in the tourist industry and quite possibly none in the nightlife scene. T-Mobile arena is about as Vegas as you can get: Hot pink neon covering every square inch, loud, boisterous and oh so inviting. Assuming the team managers can keep the myriad of distractions out of the way of the players, this town will be a rocking spot for the OWL.

It is definitely an exciting time for professional Overwatch. We all eagerly anticipate any news on the OWL. All the while we are left to our own imaginations on exactly where this thing can go. Will it initially meet our expectations? Almost certainly not, but every great league had to start somewhere. Over time we can only hope that Blizzard, and the organizations involved, have the werewithal to see this thing through to the greatness it truly deserves.

Thank you everyone who has stuck through this entire series. It has been an absolute pleasure to write and I hope you found not only some information, but some entertainment while doing so. I am always welcome to feedback and discussion on anything I write so feel free to leave comments below with your thoughts. Until next time friends, here's to avoiding ELO hell.

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