Esports infrastructure company Nerd Street Gamers announced plans Wednesday to open an esports campus in Philadelphia called “The Block.” The facility will be located inside 401 North Broad Street in Philadelphia and will serve as a hub for the company in the city.
The 40,000 square foot esports campus will serve as the company’s global headquarters and will house its broadcast and content creation studios. In addition, 20,000 square feet will be dedicated to Localhost Philadelphia, which will offer esports practice centers for local teams and schools, and serve as space for local community activities.
Localhost Philadelphia is still in the concept phase and will require approval under local zoning laws.
Once known as the “Terminal Commerce Building,” 401 North Broad is owned by Netrality, a company that operates a broadband network data center and regional connectivity hub at the location. Netrality said in the announcement that it pursued Nerd Street to open a facility at 401 North Broad because it could offer “near-zero latency for competitive gamers.”
Finally, Nerd Street said that it would partner with “local organizations and educational institutions” to facilitate their esports programs. Those partnerships include Temple University, Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs, Team Altemus, Aim Lab, TechGirlz, and the Center for Autism and Neurodiversity at Jefferson Health.
In July Nerd Street secured a $5.4M USD convertible note financing round that included existing investors T1 co-owner Comcast Spectacor, discount store chain Five Below, and venture capital firms Elevate Capital and SeventySix Capital. At the same time it shared plans to open more than 100 LocalHost esports venues in Five Below stores, sports stadiums, and college campuses across the U.S. over the next five years.