Sneak peek around the new £7million Esports campus as Sunderland set to become national hub

Sunderland looks set to lead the UK’s Esports gaming evolution with the National Esports Performance Campus set to officially open next month (November) and the Echo was invited along for a sneak peek at this new ‘world class’ facility.

Located in the City Centre, The Place building features ‘Bootcamp’ rooms housing the latest Alienware Aurora R15 gaming desktops with electronically adjustable desks and state of the art gaming chairs.

The campus also contains a number of classrooms, IT suites and a lecture room where students can learn about the Esports industry, including game content, managing Esports tournaments, branding and advertising.

Also located within the campus are three ‘gaming houses’ with accommodation for Esports teams to rent for training camps and as a base for international UK based competitions.

British Esports CEO, Chester King, said: “This really is the first of its kind facility and Sunderland will represent a British Esports’ flagship hub for Esports development and innovation in the UK.

“These facilities really are the best in the UK and they are based here in Sunderland. As well as providing Level 2 and 3 BTECs for our students the campus will also provide a venue for the national Esports team to come and train.”

The £7m investment will also see a 100 seater auditorium and broadcasting centre open in Spring 2024 on the site of the old Audi garage near the Stadium of Light, providing a base from which to host and stream Esports competitions.

Asked why British Esports chose Sunderland as the city in which to base their national hub, Chester said: “We were looking for the right venue to build the auditorium and the site of the Audi dealership was ideal and so we contacted Sunderland City Council.

“The Council were so welcoming and told us about this building which was available. This is the first site of its type and I’m really excited about the future of the campus.

“We’ve also reached out to build connections with the football club and I’m feeling like I am becoming an adopted Mackem.”

As well as welcoming students from across the country, British Esports has also opened its doors to students from Sunderland City College with around 50 BTEC students using the facility since September.

Within the campus, the College has also established their own Seers Room, a dedicated training space for Esports gamers.

Faculty director in Computing and Digital, Sheree Rymer said: “We were already running Level 2 and 3 BTECS in Esports and after Chester visited the college last year he suggested working in partnership.

“The facilities are absolutely amazing and are of a standard you can only really dream of in a normal education setting.

“It’s the equivalent of someone saying they want to be a professional footballer and doing their training at the Stadium of Light.

“The students also benefit from the support of the Esports staff here at the campus as well as guest lecturers and athletes in the Esports industry.”

The college now has its own Sunderland Seers competition and training room at the campus which has helped the students to go on and win a number of national competitions.

Sheree said: “This is a prime example of industry and education working together. Every Wednesday afternoon the students will compete in the Seers room. Training in such a professional environment is a real inspiration to the students and will help to produce the best pipeline of Esports talent.”

It’s a sentiment shared by Level 3 BTEC Esports students Bailey Armstrong and Caleb Davie.

Bailey, 19, said: “I’ve always been a keen gamer and being at the campus really makes you feel like you are part of the Esports industry.

“I’m really impressed with the facilities. In the future I would like to be an Esports competitor or a shoutcaster - someone who provides live commentary at competitions.”

Caleb Davie, 19, added: “Last year we were just at the college campus but here you really feel like you are in a professional environment.

“My favourite parts of the course are looking at content creation, advertising and also looking at the psychology behind games.

“In the future I would like to create my own Esports organisation or get into the branding and marketing of games.”

Gaming Houses  

A unique feature of the campus is three onsite town houses which can be hired out by gaming teams for accommodation and training.

Taking me on a sneak peek tour, British Esports CEO, Chester King, said: “This really is a unique facility which enables teams to have a training base. This could be for international teams visiting the UK to take part in competitions or teams wanting to set up a focused training camp for their athletes.

“The gaming houses are self-contained with everything teams could need and provide accommodation for 25 people with great views looking out towards the sea.”

The basement of the three story properties contain single and twin bedrooms and wash facilities which are also installed on the middle floor.

It's here where teams can socialise in the expansive lounge with an enormous flat screen television. The open plan design links the lounge to a large kitchen with an ‘island’ seating area where athletes can discuss tactics while enjoying their breakfast.

On the third floor there is a dedicated Esports training room, which like the campus itself is fitted with the latest Alienware Aurora R15 gaming desktops with electronically adjustable desks and state of the art gaming chairs.

Each gaming station also contains equipment from Dell and Intel.

Just how big is the Esports and gaming industry?

With an annual turnover of $200bn the gaming industry generates more money than the movie, music and TV industries combined.

There are currently 3.1bn gamers globally, half-a-billion of which are Esports competitors.

The top Esports athletes can earn six figure annual salaries in addition to winning multi-million dollar prize money in competitions.

In 2023, the Dota 2 International competition offered a total prize pool of $19m with the winning team sharing a whopping prize of $11m.

To ensure optimum performance, Esports teams now have their own nutritionists, psychologists and physiotherapists and there are hopes athletes will be able to compete in the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.

To find out more or to register for a course, go to the National Esports Performance Campus website.