The Overwatch League’s Philadelphia Fusion announced this week a brand new home arena will be built in the heart of the South Philly sports complex, sitting alongside the Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park and the Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field. The $50 million arena will play host not only to all Fusion home games, but all kinds of events in the esports scene. We recently spoke to Joe Marsh, Chief Business Officer of the Philadelphia Fusion, about his plans for the Fusion’s new home.
The new host of Philly esports
Home games aren’t the only events Marsh wants to host, as he knows the Fusion faithful would love to gather and support the team while they’re on the road. “The plan for when the Fusion are playing games on the road is to allow the arena to act as a hub for watch parties,” Marsh explained, ”as we have the capabilities built into it.” He likened his vision to the parties they’ve already hosted at Xfinity Live, the massive entertainment facility that will soon be the Fusion’s next door neighbor, only now “we can turn the lights on and host these watch parties at the Fusion Arena.”
Marsh’s plans for the Fusion Arena don’t stop with the Fusion, as he’s open to any and all esports-related events coming to the arena. When we mentioned the burgeoning fighting game scene in Philadelphia, Marsh was completely open to a fighting game fracas hosted by the Fusion. “Any esports organization in the East Coast that wants to host an event is welcome to come into Philly and reach out to us to use the Fusion Arena,” Marsh proclaimed. “Our goal with this massive building and all of the tech we’ve built it up with is to have the lights on 365 days a year, or as close to it as possible. If someone wants to host fighting game, FPS, or other tournaments, we welcome these marquee events.”
He’s even open to the idea of a permanent roommate: “we’re also on the lookout for a second permanent tenant to share the arena with. If there does end up being another team based in the area, we’d love to have them operate out of the Fusion Arena.”
Fitting in in Philly
Obviously the Fusion aren’t the only team in the City of Brotherly Love, as the fanbase is famous for its ravenous support of the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, and 76ers. Marsh sees plenty of opportunity for partnership with these teams, which will strengthen the Fusion’s presence despite the new kid on the block.
“We’ve been in constant contact with the other Philly teams,“ Marsh said. “The Sixers have Team Dignitas as their esports organization, for example, while the Union have players in FIFA’s esports league. We would love to get talking with the other teams though too, to see if they have any plans to do charity gaming tournaments or any kind of gaming events with their players.” These events don’t have to major public events either, as Marsh is open to hosting a “more intimate and exclusive” event with major parties.
We asked what the official cheesesteak of the Fusion Arena would be if he could choose, to which he responded “Dalessandro’s of course.” We also asked which Overwatch character would be the best fit for a skin of Philly’s favorite son, the Philadelphia Flyers’ giant orange mascot Gritty, and his choice was the tiny hamster Hammond. The fact that he was able to answer these questions so definitively tells us Marsh has Philly’s best interests at heart...even if Roadhog might make a better Gritty.
A year in the making
Although the arena was announced recently, plans for the facility has been in the works for just about a year. “We started planning for this in March of 2018, as part of signing on with Overwatch League meant putting together a home arena for the team by 2020,” Marsh says. “We immediately went on a tour and searched around the city trying to find the right building and spot to fit our needs.”
What they found, in places like University City near the University of Pennsylvania or the Northern Liberties section of the town, was a surprising amount of obstacles. For one thing, real estate became a huge issue, meaning that, according to Marsh, instead of a brand new building “everything would have been a retrofit or rebuild-up. It was a head scratcher trying to find usable land in a city that doesn’t have a lot of land left for purchase and development.” Finally, Fusion CEO Dave Scott came up with the idea of building right in the South Philly sports complex, based on a watch party at Xfinity Live that had outperformed every other event the Fusion hosted, which led to a presentation at The Comcast Center that would change everything.
“This meeting blew us away,” Marsh recounts. “They actually had a VR headset with a demonstration of what the arena could be. There was a lot of sacrificing for cost and location discovery, but once we settled on the program and the plan, organizing became much easier.” With the plans in place and the ideas in motion, the Fusion Arena was well on its way to becoming the latest fixture in South Philadelphia.
As for when Fusion fans can expect to experience the Overwatch League firsthand in Philly? Marsh is confident the arena will be ready in time for the 2021 OWL season. “Construction will be done in late 2020, and we’ll be ready for the 2021 Season. So because we start in February, I would say February 2021. We may have other events while we wait for Overwatch League in 2021 to start, but yeah, first Fusion match? February 2021, and we look forward to a sold-out arena to kick off things off.”
For more with Fusion CBO Joe Marsh check out part two of our talk about working against stereotypes of the gaming industry, or check out how a heartbreaking loss brought out the best in Philly Overwatch League fans.
