New E-Sports Venue Planned For Toronto Likely To Need A Whole Bunch Of Digital Display

February 22, 2021 by Dave Haynes

Attention LCD/LED display biz dev people ….

A planned sports and entertainment venue in Toronto – geared to and backed by an e-sports company – looks to be a prime home to a lot of display technology when the lights go on and the doors open in about four years.

A company called OverActive Media has confirmed details of a $500 million-ish project that includes a theatre-style entertainment venue and hotel complex on the lakeside grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition. It’s the same area where the Blue Jays first played, and now home to BMO Field, where the MLS team plays.

It would be the first new sports or entertainment venue built in Toronto since BMO Field in 2007, and fills a gap for a more intimate venue than the NHL hockey arena or cavernous Rogers Centre, where the MLB’s Blue Jays play in more normal times.

and promises to be an unparalleled experience for fans and performance artists alike.

Positioned on four acres on the north side of Lakeshore Blvd., and across from the Ontario Place lands, the venue is expected to become the epicentre for what is starting to emerge as Toronto’s future meeting place for sports, media and entertainment. This privately financed, purpose-built venue, will offer premiere music artists and entertainment acts of the world a new place to call home in Toronto, now the fourth largest city in North America.

“Today is another important step in the evolution of OverActive Media. We are building a world leading, 21^st century sports media and entertainment company and this best-in-class performance venue will be the chosen home for a new generation of fans that think differently about their entertainment choices and experiences,” says Chris Overholt, OverActive’s President and CEO.

I mention all this because there will likely be demand for a pile of DV LED inside and out, and a lot of concessions, suites and navigation displays around the building.

The facility plans to host 200+ events a year, driven primarily by premium music and entertainment bookings. It will also serve to attract major city-wide conventions, corporate events and product launches, awards shows and naturally, a full slate of esports events increasing over time.

OverActive Media is the owner of four major global esport franchises, including Toronto’s two professional teams (Toronto Ultra of the Call of Duty League and Toronto Defiant of the Overwatch League). While this venue will be home for its two teams, their vision is to also elevate Toronto and Canada as a destination of choice for the global industry of gaming and esports.

I like the building design, which doesn’t look like an arena.