District E Powered by Ticketmaster
The 6th Annual Awards
- Best Engagement Through Esports & Gaming
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
District E Powered by Ticketmaster is the new flagship venue for esports in the Mid-Atlantic. The venue features nearly 14,000-square-feet of live-event theater space offering a 365-day-a-year, series of immersive experiences in esports, music, event programming, and community events – along with pre- and post-event activations for fans attending Capitals and Wizards games or concert events. This space intimately hosts hundreds of fans, offers an extraordinary culinary experience, and is conveniently located adjacent to Capital One Arena at Gallery Place in downtown Washington D.C. The venue creates a best-in-class competition and training venue for Monumental’s esports franchises including Wizards District Gaming, Caps Gaming, and Team Liquid with the multipurpose MedStar Wizards District Gaming Studio. In 2023, District E hosted more than 80 esports events, including live home games for Wizards District Gaming, all in-person NBA 2K League competitions, grassroots tournaments for DMV locals, official events for Team Liquid, and more.
How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?
With this first-of-its-kind venue in the Mid-Atlantic, District E meets the modern sports fan at their level: casual fans & gamers finding their level of interest or engaged and experienced gamers – or anything in between. Monumental Sports is taking advantage of the increased digitization of the fan experience (smart phones, social media, push notifications, streaming, betting, etc.) and creating a tailored experience to meet fans at the level of sophistication where they are most comfortable. District E offers a new avenue to explore for novice esports fans and a new destination for experts to add to their knowledge and experiences in gaming. The facility features top-of-the-line equipment for gamers of all stripes and an event space with floor-to-ceiling LEDs that immerse gamers in an incredible atmosphere. From a production standpoint, District E boasts the capability for everything from high quality Twitch livestreams all the way to industry-leading linear broadcasts. Fans that visit District E are immersed into esports and entertainment in a way that the industry has never seen. It taps into the wide-scale, international appeal of esports, localizes the approach, and offers more access.
Objective
District E was created to offer an esports-centric venue that serves as a rallying point for the gaming community in this region as a direct response to the rapid rise in popularity of esports and the growing audience for gaming in general. The space also allows Monumental and its traditional sports teams to extend their game day activities from Wizards and Capitals nights at Capital One Arena with pre-and post-event programming available just a few steps away at District E. Sports fans of all kinds want and will invest in different opportunities to experience the sports they love in person. This is proven at every professional sporting venue on a nightly basis, and Monumental has applied it to its esports verticals by building a place for esports and gaming fans to intersect with traditional sports fans over their love of in-person entertainment. District E also opened new, unique opportunities for MSE to engage with gaming communities outside of the world of traditional sports, developing new avenues to reach an emerging audience. As the esports industry continues to grow, District E will serve this hybrid mix of fans.
Strategy & Execution
In just over a year, Monumental brought together the best in the business to launch this extraordinary effort and help scale the esports industry in D.C. The design team, Architecture, Incorporated, designed a modern, technology-forward, and cutting-edge aesthetic, without intimidating traditional sports fans. And they accentuated all of the facets of the space that competitive gamers need to be successful – for amateurs and professionals alike. In addition to esports and traditional sports iconography adorning the walls, the venue and its different sections include 30+ state -of-the-art gaming stations, over 1,000 square feet of LED displays, large digital screens on the walls of the restaurant, competition studio and training facilities, individual streaming pods, lounges with sleek and inviting furniture and a gaming-themed restaurant and bar operated by Aramark – all reflecting an emphasis on reaching the modern sports fan.
Organizations
- Monumental Sports & Entertainment
- Ticketmaster
- Washington Wizards
- Washington Capitals
- Wizards District Gaming
- Team Liquid
- Aramark
Links
Credits
Zachary Leonsis
President, Media & New Enterprises
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Andrew McNeill
Vice President, Esports
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Patrick Crossan
Head Coach and General Manager, Wizards District Gaming
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Elyssa Morris
Senior Marketing Manager, Esports
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
James Bittner
Senior Manager, Esports Programs
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Lacey Bruins
Senior Director, Facilities and Events
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Caitlin Farrell
Manager, Booking
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Caleb Anderson
Senior Director of Sales & Partnerships
Team Liquid
Chris Ambrosio
Senior Director, Global Events & Fan Engagement
Team Liquid
Cameron Reeve
Senior Producer, Esports
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Yenny Louie
Senior Director, Media Engineering and Operations
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Oneil Bowen-Mignott
Restaurant Manager, District E
Aramark
Vincent Vazquez
District Manager, Washington, D.C. District
Aramark
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 6th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 6, 2024 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
