Atlanta Sports Council creates Atlanta Esports Alliance

The Atlanta Esports Alliance will serve as a collaborative effort between hardware manufacturers, game developers, media partners, and professional team owners and has already received support from major companies Georgia Game Developers and Skillshot Media.

With plans to bring “new opportunities for teams, tournaments, venues, and esports service providers and partners” to the Atlanta area, the Atlanta Esports Alliance appointed Director of Global Festivals and Vice President of DreamHack Bas Bruinekool to serve as the company’s honorary board member.

While celebrating the company’s 25th anniversary, Bruinekool commented on the new initiative.

"It is truly remarkable to see how far the esports and video game industry has come since the beginning of DreamHack 25 years ago. We first brought this festival to Atlanta because of how quickly this industry was growing here — three years later, we are proud to say it is still one of only three U.S. markets we are currently visiting. I am proud to represent DreamHack as an honorary board member of the Atlanta Esports Alliance, and look forward to working together to grow the esports ecosystem not just in Georgia, but all over the world."

Atlanta has been a sports mecca over the years, including a rumor of bringing a new women’s professional soccer team to the city, but esports has garnered a lot of popularity in the area thanks to franchise teams such as the Atlanta Reign, Hawks Talon, and the Atlanta FaZe, Hi-Rez Studios, Blue Mammoth, Scuf Gaming, and ELEAGUE also reside in Atlanta, adding to the city’s initiative to increase esports popularity and "streamline efficiencies for planning and producing major sports events locally."

President of Atlanta Sports Council Dan Corso also spoke of the new move, stating, "Our goal is to continue being forward-thinking. As we look ahead to the next decade, esports is going to continue to dominate the sports industry, and it was important for us as an organization to cement Atlanta as the capital of esports and use this platform as yet another economic driver."