Team Vitality partnering with HKS to build new esports facility

Team Vitality has shared its plans to open a new facility in Paris. The project is a collaboration between Team Vitality and HKS Sports & Entertainment.

Vitality is an esports organization based in France with teams competing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Rocket League, and many other popular titles.

In March, Vitality shared a picture on the organization’s official Twitter account showing the front of a building with the caption “From digital to physical.” It was then revealed to be the beginning of the project with North American interdisciplinary global design firm HKS Sports & Entertainment.

The new facility comes as part of Vitality’s plan to expand its global brand. In November 2018, the organization received $22.7 million in additional funding from tech entrepreneur Tej Kohli through the Rewired GG investment fund.

Part of the investment will be used on the new facility. Another portion will go towards paying the franchise fee in the League of Legends European Championship, where the organization bought one of the LEC’s premier franchise sports. The team will next look to expand its presence to China and Southeast Asia, promising regions with a fast-growing esports scenes.

According to the announcement, the new facility will be open to fans and will act as a center of operations for the organization. As esports continues to grow, such training facilities are becoming a necessity for larger organizations, especially those competing in the newly franchised league competitions.

ExceL Esports, another LEC competitor, announced earlier this year the opening of its own facility at the Twickenham Stadium in Southwest London. In Berlin, Misfits Gaming opened the Misfits Arena, a space where fans can play games, purchase team merchandise, and meet pro players.

The Vitality facility is expected to open by the end of the year 2019.