VERITAS opens esports facility in Berlin

Article posted by Coliseum, June 4^th, 2020

Image: VERITAS Entertainment

VERITAS Entertainment opened a 26,000-square foot esports and gaming facility in Berlin on March 26. The gaming facility is ready and has been dubbed LVL and the same has been opened after raising $10 million (£7.72 million) in funding.

The 2,500-square-meter establishment has been launched in collaboration with G2 Esports, whose players will use the facilities as a training ground and content hub, and will be able to interact directly with fans through the venue.

Berlin-based Veritas Entertainment specializes in sports marketing, event production, and entertainment content. It serves the sports and entertainment industry in Germany.

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The LVL facility will be home to live professional esports events and gaming-related content creators like streamers or cosplayers. G2 Esports will claim LVL as its home facility.

G2 Esports, formerly known as Gamers2, is a Spanish esports organization based in Berlin, Germany, with players competing in League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, and iRacing.

“The esports ecosystem currently has large arenas and glorified Internet cafes with a few PCs in them, but not a permanent facility where premium events can be hosted while also serving as a place to socialize with friends,” said Dorian Gorr, Co-Founder and Managing Director of VERITAS Entertainment.

“It’s not only a facility for professional teams to practice, but it’s a hub for entertainment, collaboration, and connection,” Gorr added.

“Think of it like Hard Rock Cafe meets Soho House, but for esports and gaming. I hate when people call it a gaming cafe or arena, because that’s not it. For me, it’s really a community center and hub. We are all building our childhood dream here. For us, it’s something where a lot of passion goes into all these little details, because people are building something they would enjoy as customers themselves,” Gorr further observed.

LVL will also launch a 24/7 gaming channel on Twitch and YouTube as part of a wider initiative to lure sponsors.

Elaborating on the commercial stance adopted by LVL, Gorr explained, “The regular real estate business model is you, at the end, calculate how much money I make per square meter or square feet. Through unique content marketing, and bringing in brands, we increase the reach steadily. We can actually provide them a business model on top of this that is scalable, to some extent.”

VERITAS announced $10 million in funding from BITKRAFT Esports Ventures and additional angel investors in order to create their facilities and provide the requisite management infrastructure.

VERITAS Entertainment will use the funding to flesh out the arena, expand its operating team, and eventually expand markets outside of Berlin.

Though VERITAS Entertainment has not yet announced any expansion plans, but Gorr said the company sees prospects in New York and in Scandanavian, Spanish, and South American markets.

“I can’t put enough emphasis on how important it is for us to really build a venue brand. That LVL stands for something. That it has its own identity, tone of voice, feeling, and attitude,” he said, noting there would be hard-cap on how often LVL can be hired, and that half of all events would be LVL-branded.

“If you’re just a rental space that hosts a different tournament organizer, publisher, or brand that organizes a tournament and gives it their identity on a weekly basis, you will never be that,” Gorr added.

Aside from hospitality revenue through its restaurant and bar, LVL will also offer pay-by-hour and membership use of its gaming PCs and consoles, will rent out its esports arena and other event spaces, streaming, and content studios.

Gorr said that the pricing for the local area network (LAN) and content hire would be moderately priced, as the company puts its focus on turning its events into content, and in turn attracting brands.

LVL is located in Checkpoint Charlie, a former border crossing between East and West Berlin, which has developed into one of the city’s most visited tourist spots.

San Francisco (US)-headquartered BITKRAFT is an early stage investor and company builder devoted entirely to the eSports sector.

“LVL is the best possible place for being the home of G2’s teams to practice, bootcamp and interact with our amazing fans. It will be the go-to place for us to spend time with the #G2ARMY and interact with our people in Berlin, the capital of esports in Europe,” G2 Esports CEO Carlos ‘ocelote’ Rodriguez said.

VERITAS estimates that with their Berlin location, they will reach 250,000 visitors and 130 live events per year, with tournaments set to be held across an array of esports titles.

Apart from featuring gaming stations, the venue will also include a bar, a cinema area, a restaurant, a content creation studio, and an esports arena. The setup features a transparent soundproof dome, to allow teams to compete uninterrupted while fans can get close to the action.

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