OverActive Media is planning a new Toronto eSports arena seating between 7,000 and 10,000 at Exhibition Place to house its Overwatch League and Call of Duty League franchises.
Exhibition Place is the entertainment complex also housing BMO Field and Hotel X Toronto, as well as the annual Canadian National Exhibition.
The arena will host Toronto Defiant and Toronto Ultra. From ESPN:
OverActive Media has hired former Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment vice president Bob Hunter to coordinate with government officials on the venue. Hunter has been involved in the development and expansion of several other Canadian sports venues, including B.C. Place Stadium, Rogers Centre, Scotiabank Arena and BMO Field. The new esports arena deal was negotiated between the Kimel family — the majority owners of OverActive and a well-known Canadian real estate and hospitality industry family — and Library Hotel Collection owner Henry Kallan, who owns Hotel X Toronto.
OverActive Media was formed when the Ledger Group, a Canadian tech investment group, pivoted to a majority esports focus following investments in American esports franchise Splyce and Enthusiast Gaming, the operators of the biggest gaming expo in Canada.
We’ve seen plenty of eSports complexes rising up recently, ranging from the 8,000-square-foot esports complex at Patriot Place, adjacent to Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, to the $50-million Fusion Arena, part of the Philadelphia Sports Complex and funded by Comcast Spectator and The Cordish Companies.
