Envy Gaming Inc., a Dallas-based company that owns multiple teams and operates as one of the largest esports organizations in the world, is establishing a new training facility and expanded headquarters office in Dallas’ Victory Park neighborhood.
The company has signed a 20,872-square-foot sublease at 3030 Olive St., a Class A office building adjacent to the American Airlines Center.
“Our new training facility and headquarters in Uptown Dallas is going to transform the way we compete, engage with our fans locally and reach fans around the entire world,” says Mike Rufail, owner and CEO of Envy Gaming. “This is a catalyst for us to make even greater leaps on behalf of the entire esports industry.”
Evy Gaming owns, operates, and produces content for the esports brand Team Envy, the newly announced Dallas Empire team, as well as an Overwatch League franchise, the Dallas Fuel. In 2017, the company moved its headquarters from Charlotte, N.C., to Dallas.
The new office will house Envy Gaming’s executive team, including staff for the Dallas Fuel team in the Overwatch LeagueTM and the Dallas Empire team in the Call of Duty® LeagueTM, and be the base of all operational functions for the growing company.
The space will include dedicated facilities for team training, content creation, player development, and wellness training.
Ryan Hoopes and Tom Sutherland of Cushman & Wakefield represented Envy Gaming in their property search and lease negotiations.
Hoopes says the company was drawn to Victory Park for its wide selection of walkable amenities, which help to make the area attractive to employees.
“Esports is an incredibly competitive industry for attracting and retaining talent, both on the player side and operation side of the business,” Hoopes says. “By strategically locating their new headquarters in Victory Park in the heart of Dallas, Envy Gaming is cementing their stamp as Texas’ most attractive and valuable esports organization.”
According to a 2018 article in Cushman & Wakefield’s global magazine The Edge about the real estate of esports, over the past four decades, playing video games has become more popular than actually playing baseball, basketball, and football among men age 18 to 25.
According to the NewZoo 2018 Global eSports Market Report, there are currently 165 million eSports enthusiasts around the globe and another 215 million occasional viewers. To put that into perspective, the record for a Super Bowl-viewing audience is 114 million people.
“Watching video games isn’t just an at-home experience for fans–increasingly large-scale events are setting live attendance records, and dedicated eSports arenas are popping up around the world,” the report states. “Certain types of real estate locations with higher vacancies may serve as landing spots for venues to watch, participate in and/or practice eSports.”
