ARLINGTON, Texas, June 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2020 EsportsTravel Summit—the only event of its kind for esports tournament and event organizers—will be held in Arlington, Texas. Presented by Northstar Travel Group, the EsportsTravel Summit is being hosted by the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Arlington Sports Commission at Esports Stadium Arlington, the largest dedicated esports facility in North America.
"We are excited to host the 2020 EsportsTravel Summit in Arlington and showcase Esports Stadium Arlington to the leaders of the esports tournament and event industry," said Ron Price, president and CEO of the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We've been proud sponsors of the EsportsTravel Summit since its inception and look forward to using this opportunity to further promote the esports industry and our destination's reputation for hosting both traditional and next-generation sporting events."
The EsportsTravel Summit is the only business conference that focuses exclusively on the phenomenal growth of esports and video-game competitions and how the travel industry can profit from it. The Summit facilitates partnerships between esports organizations and the destination/hospitality industry while providing educational programming and multiple business networking opportunities.
"We are truly excited to partner with the Arlington CVB and the Arlington Sports Commission to showcase Esports Stadium Arlington, the only facility of its kind in the world," said Timothy Schneider, founder of the EsportsTravel Summit and chairman of the Sports Division of Northstar Travel Group, which publishes SportsTravel magazine and also organizes the annual TEAMS Conference & Expo. "Arlington was among the very first destinations in the United States to recognize the potential of esports as a driver for the hospitality industry and economic development and will be the perfect host destination for the EsportsTravel Summit," said Schneider.
The EsportsTravel Summit was launched in conjunction with the TEAMS Conference & Expo in Orlando in 2017 and has since been held as a stand-alone event in Las Vegas in 2018 and Atlantic City in 2019. The Summit has achieved rapid growth by filling an information vacuum that exists for both organizers of esports events and those in the travel and tourism industry who want to understand and profit from the esports phenomenon. According to Goldman Sachs, the global esports audience is expected to grow from 194 million people in 2019 to 276 million in 2022. Visionary destinations, venues and sports organizations have recognized esports as the best way to engage the next generation of visitors, fans and followers.
Attendees at the EsportsTravel Summit will convene at the 100,000-square-foot Esports Stadium Arlington, which is the largest stadium for live competitive gaming in North America. With a seating capacity of 2,500, the stadium features a 90-foot LED stage display with theatrical lights and sound. Other features include a state-of-the-art broadcast facility, a gamer gallery and modular breakout space for press, catering and VIP lounges. The stadium is connected to a 48,000-square-foot exhibit hall.
Arlington is widely considered to be the entertainment and sports capital of North Texas and is the home of the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium, the Texas Rangers' Globe Life Park, Six Flags Over Texas and the new Texas Live! entertainment district anchored by the Live! by Loews hotel, which will open in August. The new billion-dollar Globe Life Field is also under construction in Arlintgon.
For more information on Arlington, please visit https://www.arlington.org. For more information on the EsportsTravel Summit, please visit www.EsportsTravelSummit.com. Dates for the 2020 EsportsTravel Summit will be announced soon.
About Arlington CVB
The Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau markets and develops Arlington, Texas, as a premier sports, business and leisure entertainment destination to achieve new tourism spending benefits for the tourism industry, community and its residents.
About Arlington Sports Commission
The Arlington Sports Commission retains, recruits and grows a diversity of quality sports programs and events enhancing the Arlington economy and quality of place.
About Northstar Travel Group
Northstar Travel Group is the leading B-to-B information and marketing solutions company serving all segments of the travel industry including leisure/retail, corporate/business travel, business and sports, incentives, hospitality, and travel technology.
Northstar is the owner of well-known brands including Travel Weekly, TravelAge West, Travel Weekly China, Travel Weekly Asia, Business Travel News,Successful Meetings, Meetings & Conventions, Incentive, SportsTravel, M&C China, M&C Asia, Travel42, Axus Travel App, and Web in Travel. The company produces more than 80 face-to-face events in 13 countries in retail travel, hospitality, corporate travel, travel technology, sports travel, and the meetings & incentive industry with market leading events including The Meetings Show, Business Travel Show, TEAMS Conference & Expo, Global Travel Market Place and Cruiseworld.
In addition, Northstar owns Phocuswright, the leading research, business intelligence, and event producer serving the travel technology industry.
Northstar Travel Group is the leading producer of hotel investment events globally, including ALIS, the largest hotel investment conference in the world and HICAP, Asia Pacific's most important annual investment conference.
Northstar is also the majority shareholder in Inntopia, the leading SaaS e-commerce software, CRM database marketing and predictive analytics business serving the mountain destination, golf, activities, hospitality, and specialty destination travel markets.
Based in Secaucus, NJ, the company has offices in New York, NY; Stowe, VT; Denver, CO; Edwards, CO; Burlington, VT; Los Angeles, CA; Costa Mesa, CA; Lombard, IL; and global offices in Singapore, Beijing, and Shanghai. And soon to be London.
Northstar Travel Group is owned by funds managed by EagleTree Capital. For more information, visit northstartravelgroup.com.
About EagleTree Capital
EagleTree Capital, formerly Wasserstein Partners, is a New York based private equity and investment firm. It manages capital on behalf of global institutional and individual investors. EagleTree's private equity funds invest primarily in the media and business services, consumer products, and water and industrial sectors. For more information, visit eagletree.com.
SOURCE Northstar Travel Group
