Allied Esports, Simon Property Group Opening Esports Venue At Mall Of Georgia

Allied Esports and shopping mall company Simon Property Group Inc SPG will open an esports venue at the Mall of Georgia, near Atlanta, the companies said Monday.

It will be the partnership's first dedicated esports venue under a previously announced alliance.

The two-level 13,000-square-foot venue will host regular amateur and professional esports tournaments in several games. The location also will have broadcast and streaming production facilities, as well as food and retail.

Building of the space is expected to begin in the second quarter of this year with the space set to open in the second half of the year.

Mall of Georgia is one of the biggest shopping venues in the southeast.

Why it's Important For Esports

“We’ve long felt that the gaming and esports communities in the Southeast, especially the greater Atlanta metropolitan area, are vibrant and growing and believe we have a location at Mall of Georgia that will serve as a dynamic hub for esports experiences in the region,” Jud Hannigan, Allied Esports CEO, said in a press release. “We’re excited to launch this first-of-its-kind on-mall venue and continue to develop and expand on this new concept for additional Simon destinations.”

With brick and mortar retailing looking for ways to compete with online shopping, a number of traditional retail spaces have looked to find additional ways to use their spaces to lure customers. Allied esports and Simon announced last year that they were planning on opening dedicated esports venues at Simon-owned shopping centers around the country. The companies also plan to create a national amateur esports tournament called the Simon Cup.

Price Action

Shares of Simon Property Group were trading flat at time of publication Monday.

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