We're bringing something different to Sunderland city centre with our gaming-inspired accommodation

Stephen is commercial vice president of the national body for British Esports, a leading authority in the field who are helping to shape the future of competitive gaming, from working alongside Sunderland College as a campus for Btec students to hosting international tournaments.

After the national body chose Sunderland as its base in 2023, transforming The Place building in Sunniside with a £7m transformation, the city is now at the forefront of the gaming evolution - which is big business.

The UK’s gaming industry alone is estimated to be worth more than £3bn and globally the industry generates more money than the movie, music and TV industries combined.

It makes the fact that the national base is in Sunderland a big deal, with E-athletes from across the world travelling to the city compete.

“We would love more people to know we’re here and to feel pride in the fact Sunderland is home to a national centre where British team selections take place,” added Stephen.

To accommodate them, British Esports converted three neighbouring Grade II-listed townhouses into high end accommodation, where original period features meet retro gaming posters.

The Sunderland site is the only campus of its kind in the world, which combines the education of gaming, with the business side of the industry and accommodation.

Soon, there will also be a gaming arena which is being built on the former Audi garage in Sheepfolds, due to open in 2026.

Back to today, however, they’ve opened up bookings for the townhouses, reviving the nam The Place, at times when they’re not being used by E-athletes - and it’s bringing something different to the city’s accommodation market.

The Place

There’s three townhouses at The Place which are named - after Pokémon games of course - as Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald.

Anyone, from business groups to large families, can book the townhouses as self-catering accommodation, which sleep from seven to 12 people in each house.

You don’t have to be a gaming fan to book the space, but if you are, there’s the added bonus of adding to your stay with access to the townhouses’ gaming lofts kitted out with state-of-the-art gaming PCs.

“We genuinely think we have something special here and we want more people to know about it,” said Stephen, who says the houses will help meet demand for serviced apartments for people visiting the city.

“It could be anyone who books the houses, from leadership teams to groups of friends to people who want to shoot content. It’s such a flexible space,” explained Stephen. “There’s more visitors to the city, and more demand for accommodation, with all the regeneration happening in the city, and it’s very exciting to be a part of that.”

As well as the townhouses, businesses and individuals are able to book a function room and a range of workspaces to hire within the campus itself, which all has key card security and 24hour reception concierge.

You can currently book the townhouses through the British Esports website - britishesports.org - but they will also soon be available on Air BnB.

The future of gaming

The British Esports campus is shaping the future of gaming and each week up to 80 students from Sunderland College use its top-of-the-range facilities to learn about all the facets of gaming and the industry.

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

“It’s about nurturing gaming talent and providing an education pathway through students’ passion,” explained Stephen.

More that just gaming, students at the site learn the business of the industry which can then be applied in the creative, digital and STEM sectors.

Esports will further stamp the city on the gaming map with the opening of the arena, with more news on that soon.