Major Venue and Stage Upgrades Announced by MLG For CWL Anaheim
With CWL Anaheim fast approaching on June 15th, MLG’s Adam Apicella has revealed some significant venue and stage improvements ahead of the biggest open event of the year.
With the exception of the final event of the year, Call of Duty World Championship, the penultimate event CWL Anaheim is by far the most popular each year, with much larger crowds showing up to watch the action live.
Last year’s 2017 CWL Anaheim was a record breaking one in terms of attendance, and Apicella assures us that this year will be even bigger and better, and so accordingly the venue itself is getting an upgrade.
Taking place in the Anaheim Convention Center in Hall A – 145,000 square feet with around a 12,000 theatre capacity – it is certainly a massive space and one that gives MLG a lot of options.
And having used the same location for last year’s event, they have specific experience to build upon and improve the event, including specifically addressing problems caused by the increased spectators.
Firstly, Apicella explains that due to peristent bag checks upon entering the venue, they have expanded the hall to have toilets, meaning continual checks after returning from the toilet won’t be necessary.
He also explains there will be more booths and separate bars for both VIP and general attendance, and of course confirmation that Black Ops 4 will be playable at the event.
Some key quality of life improvements for attendees:
– Due to the immense lines at security & the back log due to wanding/bag check, we have expanded the hall to have bathrooms inside this year
– we have a VIP bar and a GA bar area
-more booths
-playable BLOPS4GLHF
— Adam Apicella (@MrAdamAp) June 12, 2018
But that was not all, to help attendees sitting far from the main stage action, there will be screens hanging over the audience to allow for better viewing no matter where you are seated.
Finally, the large center screen will be moved just ahead of where it would normally be visible to players on stage.
Two more:
We will also have main stage delay screens deployed for the 2nd half of audience seating due to the large crowd
We have also moved the large curved screen on the stage forward so players cannot see it and we will be putting game play there during games
— Adam Apicella (@MrAdamAp) June 12, 2018
Apicella also confirmed that 156 teams are confirmed to be signed up for the competition, which is 30 more than the 2017 Anaheim event.
And for attendees there is not only the main $200,000 tournament, but also the fan favorite all-star game, featuring the best players from the CWL Pro League playing in a friendly pro mod match.
The opportunity to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 early at the event will also be a major selling point for those attending.
The event should be the best possible penultimate show before the World Championships, which this year is be heading to Columbus, Ohio on August 15th-29th.