Esports arena ready to press start on Las Vegas Strip
The HyperX Esports Arena at Luxor is ready to press start again.
The arena reopened 4 p.m. Thursday with safety precautions in place.
“We went right to the community,” Vice President of Properties for Allied Esports Mark Green said. “We knew we had certain things that MGM required and certain things that the state required, but we wanted to make sure the players were comfortable coming back.”
Changes include 6 feet between gaming stations, masks, hand sanitizer and gloves available for players, and hourly disinfecting of all common spaces. The front lobby will be open for gaming.
Players will have their temperature checked, Green said. For players who are playing hourly, they will be escorted to a gaming station. The attendant will wipe down the station before they sit down. Players are allowed to bring their own controllers, or the arena will provide sanitized controllers in plastic bags for players to use.
“They’ve been dying to get back, and we’re dying to have them back,” Green said. “Esports has taken off since the quarantine. People are playing more; parents are playing more with their kids. We hope to see more parents playing with their kids. We’re excited to have the opportunity to serve the community again in person.”
There will be limited tournaments available on Wednesdays (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate), Fridays (Fortnite) and Saturdays (Mario Kart 8). The front lobby will be open from 4 to 11 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and noon to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
The arena will also continue to offer online tournaments, which it started while the arena was shutdown.
“We realized we should have been doing online events from day one,” Green said. “Now, we can synergize our online events and our in-arena events.”
One thing gamers won’t have to worry about anymore is paying for parking. MGM Resorts dropped paid parking at its properties. That development is something the arena believes could boost its business.
“I think we were always fighting that,” Green said. “People complained about that from day one. You know, it was $10 to park. And these are young kids. Add in $10 or $20 to play in a tournament and, for people who might not have a high-paying job, $30 or $40 is a lot to pay.”
Gaming might look a little different than before COVID-19, but the HyperX Esports Arena is ready to welcome players once again.
“We’ve taken so many precautions, and we’ve worked hard to make sure everyone feels safe,” Green said.
Contact Lukas Eggen at leggen@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0261. Follow @LukasEggen on Twitter.