At 100,000 square feet, Esports Stadium Arlington is the largest dedicated esports facility in North America, and marks Shawmut’s first venture into the booming esports industry. The facility is a turnkey solution for esports events and productions, built to serve the unique needs and demands of the esports community. The stadium can seat up to 2,500 fans and will aim to host between 30 to 50 events per year.

Shawmut worked closely in tandem with Populous, the city of Arlington, and NGAGE Esports to convert the convention center into the most flexible esports stadium in the country. In a design-build collaboration, the team completely re-designed the interior; meeting rooms and ballroom spaces were converted into a full broadcast studio and esports competition arena. In the main arena, Shawmut installed an enhanced custom stage for six vs. six gaming and infrastructure for color-changing LED screens.

“Partnering with Populous upfront allowed us to provide constructability reviews and value engineering that made the process as seamless as possible and helped us stay on the fast-track schedule,” said Randy Shelly, Shawmut vice president. “Esports Stadium Arlington not only marks new territory for our team, but for the wider esports arena industry as well, driving us to hone each decision and technical consideration as we responded to developing gaming regulations. The result is a milestone stadium that we’re thrilled to unveil to local and visiting esports athletes and fans in Arlington.”