Plans for $28m Ohio esports arena revealed to enhance Cedar Fair sports center

American amusement park and entertainment company Cedar Fair have announced plans to develop an esports arena in Ohio that’s worth $28 million.

Best known for their amusement parks and water parks, the publicly traded company are turning to esports to appeal to today’s youth.

Partnering with Esports Development Co. LLC, they’re actively developing plans to build an arena in the midwestern U.S. state Ohio as an extension of their Cedar Point Sports Center.

Costing an estimated $28m to build, the esports arena would be able to host events for up to 1,500 spectators and include 200 gaming stations and is penned to open in the first half of 2023 should it be approved and financed successfully.

As with many esports arenas and stadiums that are in construction or already in use, the plans for Cedar Fair’s own could “also host concerts, youth-orientated camps and educational opportunities.”

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The first floor of the proposed arena would contain the aforementioned gaming stations, the second would have a restaurant and broadcast studio, and the third and fourth floors would house dormitory rooms for event attendees.

“The opening of our Cedar Point Sports Center in 2017 was consistent with this strategy and has proved to be enormously popular with amateur sports teams and other large groups,” said Cedar Fair president Richard A. Zimmerman.

“Given the booming popularity of esports, we believe there is an opportunity to tap into the growing appetite for that form of entertainment and package it with all that Cedar Point has to offer.”