Allied eSports Announces Major Investment in Esports Arena

Santa Ana, California-based Esports Arena Plans for North American Expansion with First New Arena to Open in Oakland's Jack London Square

BEIJING, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied eSports announced today that it has entered into a strategic investment partnership with Santa Ana, California-based Esports Arena. The partnership includes investment toward new Esports Arena locations in North America, with the first location to open in Oakland, and expansion of Esports Arena's broadcast capabilities in its Santa Ana location. The companies will also plan and coordinate future tournaments and leagues in each other's venues.

Development on "Esports Arena: Oakland" will begin immediately in the city's Jack London Square with a target opening date at the end of 2016. The space will build on Santa Ana's Esports Arena model with a robust weekly event schedule and be equipped with a modular gaming and event space, state-of-the-art broadcasting equipment, a production studio, a green room, and a bar.

This is the most recent news from Allied eSports since the company's formation was announced in its Wangyu eSports Arena in Beijing on March 23, 2016. The announcement in North America is key to the company's mission of building a global network of esports arenas from which to host tournaments and leagues and develop new content formats for esports.

"Partnering with Esports Arena is the next step for Allied eSports in building our worldwide arena footprint and launching consistent tournaments on a global scale," Jud Hannigan, Senior Vice President of Allied eSports said. "Not only will Esports Arena be the North American home of our upcoming tournaments and leagues, but we are looking forward to expanding on the success of Esports Arena Santa Ana, bringing its distinct impact on the esports community to Oakland and other markets."

Esports Arena opened in October 2015 and has been successful in building audiences and consistently hosting events and competitions across many popular gaming titles. Its location in Santa Ana has become a North American destination for casual gamers, professional esports teams and both publisher and sponsor-organized events, and will be adding a new production studio as a result of the partnership with Allied eSports.

"While Esports Arena has taken pride in our ability to translate the energy of our events in the arena to our broadcasts, the chance to add an industry-leading studio in Santa Ana will enable us to offer much more dynamic broadcast options to the industry, with increased opportunities for content creation," Paul Ward, CEO of Esports Arena said. "In addition to the aggressive expansion plans in Oakland and other markets, aligning with Allied eSports will allow us to bring exciting events to North America as well as provide an avenue for exposure and participation into what's happening around the globe for gamers here."

With the addition of Esports Arena to the Allied eSports Property Network, the company now has locations in Asia and North America with an upcoming announcement in the European market coming at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany on August 17. Additional markets under exploration include Korea, Russia, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

"Esports Arena is a perfect fit for us as its founders share our vision and are already executing in Southern California what we are developing globally," Hannigan said. "Ultimately, this worldwide infrastructure is what is going to attract gamers, publishers, audiences and sponsors to our tournaments and leagues and allows us to create impactful events and content for the esports community."

Allied eSports expects to expand its network to more than 10 esports properties globally in the next 3-5 years, developing esports content hubs and connecting more closely with the global gaming community.

Allied eSports Contact
Koven Song - koven@allied-esports.com
mobile: (+86)13601282420

Esports Arena Media Contact
Tiffany Chiu - tiffany@esportsarena.com

About Allied eSports
Allied eSports is a joint venture of the largest esports, sports and entertainment companies in China -- Ourgame International (SEHK: 6899), Wangyu Wangka -- the largest internet cafe chain in China, KongZhong (Nasdaq: KZ), Ourpalm (SZSE: 300315) and iRena (NEEQ: 834358). The company's mission is to build a global, competitive esports property designed to connect players and fans via a network of arenas around the world, which will serve as both battlegrounds and content-generation hubs. The first Allied eSports property, Wangyu eSports Arena, opened its doors in late 2015 in the heart of downtown Beijing.

About Esports Arena
Esports Arena is North America's premier esports venue, community hub and production company. Esports Arena launched in 2015 and is located in downtown Orange County, California. Esports Arena's unique modular facility allows for small-to-large-scale, expertly produced eSports and entertainment events. Esports Arena hosts daily video game competitions, produces unique content, and rents space/equipment to the esports/interactive entertainment industry.