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The Overwatch League awarded a franchise to Washington in its first round of expansion. (David 'Dee' Delgado for The Washington Post)
The DMV just got its next pro sports team, with the Overwatch League announcing Friday that the District will be home to one of eight new franchises entering the fledgling esports league for its 2019 season. The team will be owned by Mark Ein, owner of the Washington Kastles of Team Tennis World.
Built around Blizzard Entertainment's popular sci-fi shooter game of the same name, the Overwatch League is coming off a successful inaugural season highlighted by strong viewership numbers on streaming giant Twitch, a new broadcast deal with ESPN and its parent company Disney, and a two-day championship event held in Brooklyn's Barclays Center, home of the NBA's Nets. The league started competitive, Robert and Jonathan Kraft of the New England Patriots, Stan Kroenke of the Los Angeles Rams and Jeff Wilton of the New York Mets.
[Overwatch League expansion wave begins in Atlanta, Guangzhou]
Franchise costs for the first 12 teams were reported at $ 20 million per team. Team costs for this round of expansion have ranged from $ 35 million to $ 60 million, according to reports.
The Burbank, Calif., Calif., Et al., And its local markets in 2020 – the franchise continues to dominate the district emphasis on esports. It also anchors one of the world's largest competitive properties to the District, joining the Washington Wizards' NBA 2K League team, Wizards District Gaming.
An Overwatch fan dresses up at the Grand Finals in Brooklyn this summer. (David 'Dee' Delgado for The Washington Post)
"Washington, D.C., is a terrific market for Overwatch," Pete Vlastelica, CEO of Activision Blizzard's esports leagues. Vlastelica noted that the league 's list of potential cities for franchises is ranked in overwatch in that region. Washington ranks particularly high by those standards, according to Vlastelica. He also pointed to the group's ownership and the area's "world-class comings" as a reason the league awarded a franchise to the District.
Ein, who is also invested in aXiomatic Gaming, which has been honored by the Liquid Team franchise franchise, has begun expanding conversations with the OWL in the spring.
"We were immediately attracted to it," Ein said. "What Activision Blizzard broadly and [Vlastelica] Have done specifically in building a team at the Overwatch League, he really impressed us, and we believe in what they are doing and we believe they are executing on that vision. "
Following the initial discussions, Vlastelica feels a team to the District to meet with Ein's group and Events DC, which coordinates events for some of the city's first comings.
"All of us would think this would be a great opportunity if we could bring it together," Ein said.
The Entertainment and Sports Arena at St. Elizabeth, a site built for the competition. The facility is already set to serve the Wizards District Gaming when it opens, and The Mayor is reported in that Mayor Muriel Bowser wants to bring in another esports team.
Ein, as Events DC President and Chief Executive Officer Gregory O'Dell, said there were no final agreement for St. Elizabeth's to act as the team's home base and that other sites were under consideration.
"We are certainly hopeful and we are certainly talking about the owners about it being a potential site there, "O'Dell said. He later added, "When we build this arena from a technology perspective and the size and scale, this is exactly the sweet spot, and the coming would be perfect for this league."
Bowser and Events DC has been proactive in positioning Washington as a home for the future, and has continued to grow. Market research firm New zoo projects esports properties to reach a combined value of $ 900 million this year, while Goldman Sachs issued more than 300,000 global viewers by 2022.
By investing and supporting an esports infrastructure, the District hopes to attract gaming fans and players to more competitions. The new Overwatch franchise aligns with these goals, combining an international city with an international league.
"The thing I find so compelling about this is the global nature of it," Ein said. "There are going to be major cities in Asia, major cities in North America and have our Washington community playing Seoul and Shanghai and Paris and London in a major professional sport. … I think it's thrilling. Esports has already captured the imagination of so many people in our Washington community, and I think this is going to be a newcomer to a huge swath of new people and influence in our region. "
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