It’s ‘I am (game)’ with Nerd Street Gamers

Article by Coliseum, published November 6, 2020

Image: Populous

Nerd Street Gamers – a national network of esports facilities and events dedicated to powering competitive opportunities for gamers – is rolling out Localhost gaming centers all over United States. It is starting with its flagship ‘The Block’, a multiple-floor, 40,000SF campus in Philadelphia, PA (US).

The esports infrastructure company headquartered in Philadelphia, PA has sought the services of global design firm Populous and the design practice will be spearheading the same.

It is a very ingenious concept – localized gaming centers open to the public and brought to life all across US. It will enjoy 20,000SF of gaming space with dynamic amenities such as high-speed computer systems for gaming and streaming, localized competitions for esports, lounge areas for console gaming, a full-scale broadcast center to stream games on Twitch, YouTube, etc., and dedicated space for Food and Beverage (F&B), retail and esports merchandise.

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‘The Block’ will also be utilized as Nerd Street Gamers’ corporate headquarters, for which it will carve out 10,000SF, and the Fusion Overwatch League will use 10,000SF for a training center and office space.

The Philadelphia Fusion is an American-based professional Overwatch esports team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Fusion competes in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league’s Atlantic South Division.

Brian Mirakian, Esports Director for the Americas and Senior Principal at Populous, stated, “This is a really exciting project for the world of gaming and esports. Localhost brings access to communities in a way that has not been done before, and ‘The Block’ will serve as a beacon for this new type of facility coming to the market. As the worldwide esports landscape grows and evolves, we have the opportunity to bring people together in venues, across all scales, built for the purpose of gaming. Partnering with Nerd Street Gamers, one of the industry’s most innovative companies has allowed us to explore the future and reach new heights in developing a top-quality experience for today’s gamers.”

‘The Block’

‘The Block’ boasts robust technology backbone that supports the facility. When it comes to competitive gaming, one must have the right equipment, and many people across US do not have access to this high level of computer speed. The Block’s local area network (LAN) center allows residents of the community to come in and take advantage of its multiple long-haul and metro fiber routes, which support a near-zero lag time for players.

A large flexible event space at ‘The Block’ has been designed to support a variety of programs, such as esports events, corporate events, and team meet-and-greets, or product demonstrations.

Nerd Street Gamers plans to build 100 Localhosts over the next five years. Populous will serve as the lead designer on all of these, including the one underway in Hawthorne, California.

Each of these Nerd Street Gamers Localhost locations operate for gamers of all skill levels to participate in esports competitions, bootcamps, training sessions, summer camps and hourly play in a wide variety of video games.

The idea of the bootcamp is to help players to understand the games they love in a whole new way and gain the skills and confidence to delve deeper into the world of esports.

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