First of its kind Esports arena gets the green light to be built in Sunderland

The 15,000 sq. ft. arena, which sits alongside the National Esports Performance Campus (NEPC) in Sunderland, is set to open in early 2026 after financing was approved by a leading High Street bank.

The new facility will be equipped with a 200-seat theatre, a 17m-wide LED screen, broadcast, content and editing studios, retail and hospitality facilities, performance rooms, and an expansive outdoor activation space.

British Esports say it will be the first of its kind Esports arena in Europe, and “aims to be one of the best in the world”.

The new arena will also become a training and education hub where athletes can practise under tournament conditions with lights, an audience area and a stage, replicating the thrill of intense, live Esports competition.

It will provide an ideal venue for professional Esports players preparing to compete in major future events, such as the Esports World Cup and Olympic Esports Games.

Andy Payne OBE, Chair of British Esports, said: “This is our St George’s Park for Esports, a national home with world-class performance spaces that will help train the next generation of Esports talent and help to grow the region to be a key leader in Esports in the UK.

“The arena completes a multi-year vision to develop a campus that’s built to develop Esports athletes, deliver first-class events, and support entrepreneurs and creators.

“This significant development marks another crucial step forward in British Esports' mission to champion grassroots Esports development and elite athlete performance across the nation and globally. It will help generate new jobs and drive economic prosperity for the North East, forming a key part of the expansive Riverside Sunderland initiative.

“We have designed our facility so that on any given day we could be a training, running a global Esports tournament, hosting a publisher game launch or hired out as a music venue. The flexibility of the arena will be what makes it a sustainable facility that drives value back to British Esports, so that we can do more work for our community.”

The arena will be a multi-use venue available for private bookings, music events, games industry and Esports community events, and national competitions. It will be located next to the Stadium of Light, the home of Premier League football team Sunderland AFC.

Cllr Michael Mordey, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “We are thrilled to see work progressing on the development of British Esports’ Gaming and Esports Arena at Riverside Sunderland, which is held up as one of the most ambitious regeneration schemes in the UK right now.

“Billions of pounds of investment will see our city transformed in the coming years, with thousands of new homes, Grade A offices, a new Nissan electric vehicle hub and a plethora of new leisure developments rising from the ground, and the Gaming and Esports Arena is a fantastic addition to this mix.

“It is a game-changing development which will cement Sunderland’s reputation as the home of Esports in the UK, while providing a major boost to the regional economy, creating high skilled jobs for local people and attracting visitors from across the globe to our transforming city.”

The National Esports Performance Campus, which opened in Sunderland in 2023, boasts an Esports bootcamp training facilities, featuring high-spec gaming rooms powered by Alienware, NVIDIA and Intel, and Secretlab gear.

There are also gaming houses for up to 27 guests and education and innovation suites.

It’s also the headquarters of the British Esports Federation.

Work on the new arena is set to commence in September 2025.