Fusion Arena

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Fusion Arena
Fusion Arena.png
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Fusion Arena
Location in Philadelphia
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Fusion Arena
Location in Pennsylvania
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Red pog.svg
Fusion Arena
Location in the United States
Location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 39°54′13.0″N75°10′59.6″W / 39.903611°N 75.183222°W / 39.903611; -75.183222 Coordinates: 39°54′13.0″N75°10′59.6″W / 39.903611°N 75.183222°W / 39.903611; -75.183222
Public transit BSicon SUBWAY.svg SEPTA.svg NRG station:
  Broad Street Line
Aiga bus trans.svg SEPTA.svg SEPTA bus: 4, 17
Owner Comcast Spectacor
Type Arena
Capacity 3,500 (planned) [1]
Construction
Broke groundSeptember 25, 2019 [2]
OpenedTBD (delayed)
Construction cost$50 million [1]
Architect Populous [1]
Project manager The Cordish Companies [3]
Tenants
Philadelphia Fusion (OWL)
Website
www.fusionarenaphilly.com

Fusion Arena is the placeholder name for a planned multi-use facility located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Announced on March 25, 2019, the original plan for the venue was to be a dedicated esports arena as the home to the Philadelphia Fusion of the Overwatch League (OWL). It was originally planned to open prior to the 2021 OWL season.

Contents

Construction is currently paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

History

On December 12, 2018, the Overwatch League (OWL), an esports league based on Blizzard Entertainment's 2016 first-person shooter Overwatch, announced the addition of "Homestand Weeks," weeks of games played in cities other than Burbank, California, where all 2018 OWL games were played, for their second season as an effort to push the league towards a full home-and-away schedule. [4] On March 15, 2019, then-OWL commissioner Nate Nanzer tweeted that all teams would have home venues for the 2020 season. [5] [6] On March 25, Comcast Spectacor announced plans to build Fusion Arena, the "largest new-construction, purpose-built esports arena in the Western Hemisphere," adjacent to Xfinity Live!. [1] Fusion Arena was subsequently added to Comcast's $250 million "Transformation 2020" project, a project to renovate the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, which includes Xfinity Live!, Lincoln Financial Field, Wells Fargo Center, Citizens Bank Park, and the surrounding area. [7]

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 25, days before the 2019 Overwatch League Grand Finals took place at the Wells Fargo Center. [2] OWL commissioner Pete Vlastelica, Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney, Fusion players and representatives of Comcast Spectacor participated in the ceremony. [8]

On September 21, 2020, Comcast Spectacor announced a pause in construction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and that the opening of the arena would likely be delayed. [9] In June 2022, Philadelphia Business Journal reported that Comcast Spectacor changed its plans from having it be a dedicated esports arena into a multi-use facility. [10]

Planning and design

Conceptual images for Fusion Arena were released on March 25, 2019. [1] The 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) arena will be built on 47 acres (19 ha) next to Xfinity Live! on 11th Street in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. [11] The arena will be constructed by Populous. [7] The arena will have two balcony bars, seats with USB ports, boxes and suites. It is expected to hold 3,500 people. 10,000 square feet (930 m2) will be used for a training facility, broadcast studio and team offices. [7]

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Overwatch League Professional esports league

The Overwatch League (OWL) is a professional esports league for the video game Overwatch, produced by its developer, Blizzard Entertainment. The Overwatch League follows the model of other traditional North American professional sporting leagues by using a set of permanent, city-based teams backed by separate ownership groups. In addition, the league plays in the regular season and playoffs format rather than the use of promotion and relegation used commonly in other esports and non-North American leagues, with players on the roster being assured a minimum annual salary, benefits, and a portion of winnings and revenue-sharing based on team performance. The league was announced in 2016 with its inaugural season taking place in 2018, with a total prize pool of US$3.5 million given to teams that year.

New York Excelsior American professional esports team

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San Francisco Shock American professional esports team

The San Francisco Shock are an American professional Overwatch esports team based in San Francisco, California. The Shock compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017, the San Francisco Shock is one of the twelve founding members of the OWL and is one of three professional Overwatch teams in California. The team is owned by Andy Miller, co-owner of the Sacramento Kings and NRG Esports. The Shock have won three midseason tournament titles, qualified for three season playoffs, won two back-to-back OWL Grand Finals, making them one of the most accomplished franchises in OWL history.

London Spitfire British professional esports team

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Philadelphia Fusion American professional esports team

Philadelphia Fusion is an American-based professional Overwatch esports team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Fusion compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region. Founded in 2017, Philadelphia is one of the league's twelve founding members and is the first professional esports team based in Pennsylvania. While the team competes in South Korea, Fusion Arena, a 3,500-seat dedicated esports arena in south Philadelphia, is planned to serve as the Fusion's permanent home. The team is owned by Comcast Spectacor, who also own Fusion University and T1, academy teams for the Philadelphia Fusion that compete in Overwatch Contenders.

The 2019 Overwatch League season was the second season of the Overwatch League (OWL), an esport based on the video game Overwatch. The league expanded from 12 teams from the inaugural season to 20 teams. Of the eight new teams, two were from the United States, two were from Canada, one was from France, and three were from China.

2018 Overwatch League Grand Finals

The 2018 Overwatch League Grand Finals was the first championship series of the Overwatch League (OWL), which took place July 27–28, 2018. The series was the conclusion of the 2018 Overwatch League playoffs and was played between the London Spitfire and the Philadelphia Fusion at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

2019 Overwatch League Grand Finals 2019 Overwatch League championship match

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Fusion University

Fusion University (FU) was an American esports team for the video game Overwatch competing in Overwatch Contenders (OWC) and an academy team for the Philadelphia Fusion of the Overwatch League (OWL). The team is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and plays in the Europe region of OWC. Fusion has won four consecutive North America Contenders titles and most recently won the 2019 Atlantic Showdown. The team began competition in the North America region of OWC and moved to the Korea division in 2019. Prior to the 2020 season, Fusion University disbanded. They returned to competition for the Europe 2021 season.

2019 Overwatch League playoffs

The 2019 Overwatch League playoffs were the postseason tournament of the 2019 Overwatch League regular season, beginning on September 5, and concluded with the 2019 Grand Finals, the second championship match of the Overwatch League (OWL), on September 29.

The 2020 Atlanta Reign season was the second season of the Atlanta Reign's existence in the Overwatch League and the team's second under head coach Brad "Sephy" Rajani. Atlanta planned to host two homestand weekends in the 2020 season, with the first at the Coca-Cola Roxy in late March and the second at a different, undetermined location in mid-June, but all homestand matches were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 London Spitfire season was the third season of the London Spitfire's existence in the Overwatch League. The Spitfire planned to host two homestand events in the 2020 season; the first was to be held at The SSE Arena Wembley, while the second was to be at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. However, all homestand events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 Philadelphia Fusion season was the third season of the Philadelphia Fusion's existence in the Overwatch League and their first under head coach Kim "KDG" Dong-gun. The Fusion planned to host three homestand weekends in the 2020 season, with the first two taking place at The Met in Philadelphia and the third at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. While their first homestand weekend took place, all following homestand events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 Overwatch League season is the third season of the Overwatch League (OWL), a professional esports league for the video game Overwatch. The regular season began on February 8, 2020, and concluded on August 23. It was the first season that the league implemented a city-based, home-and-away format, with teams traveling between the global home venues to play regular season matches, making the OWL the first major esports league to feature such a format. However, this format was abandoned on March 31 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and all matches were thereafter played online, with the league introducing three midseason tournaments.

Carpe South Korean professional Overwatch player

Lee Jae-hyeok, better known by his online alias Carpe, is a South Korean professional Overwatch player who currently plays for the Philadelphia Fusion of the Overwatch League (OWL). Prior to the OWL's inception, he played for BK Stars, Selfless Gaming, and FaZe Clan. Lee signed with the Philadelphia Fusion of the OWL in the league's inaugural season.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Comcast Spectacor, The Cordish Companies Announce Next-Gen Esports Arena for Philadelphia". Comcast Corporate. March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Officials Break Ground On Historic New Fusion Arena In South Philadelphia". KYW-TV. September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Fusion Arena". The Cordish Companies. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Overwatch League's 2019 Schedule Reveals Home Games for Dallas, Atlanta, and L.A." Dot Esports. December 12, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  5. ↑ Nanzer, Nate (March 15, 2019). "The @overwatchleague is coming home - and away! Starting in 2020, all Overwatch League teams will be playing in their home cities. We're super excited to see our original vision brought to life. Thanks to all of our fans for your amazing support!". Twitter. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Overwatch League teams moving to home cities in 2020". Dot Esports. March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 Kern, Reina (March 25, 2019). "Newest Esports arena to become the home of the Philadelphia Fusion". NBC Sports Philadelphia. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  8. ↑ Wolf, Jacob (September 25, 2019). "Ground broken for new Fusion Arena in Philadelphia, set to open in 2021". ESPN . Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Philly esports arena construction delayed by COVID-19". Reuters. September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  10. ↑ Hitt, Kevin (June 1, 2022). "Comcast Spectacor's Fusion Arena in South Philadelphia pivots from esports venue to multi-use facility". Philadelphia Business Journal . Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Comcast Spectacor to build $50M arena for Fusion". ESPN.com. March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
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