Esports and technology company Vindex is launching the first Belong Gaming Arena in the U.S. this summer, in Houston. It plans 500 across the country in the next five years. The Houston venue will be in CBL’s Pearland Town Center, which features 90 stores and 645,000 square feet. The venue will join Belong’s 25 U.K. arenas. Other U.S. venues scheduled to open this year will be in Dallas, Columbus, Chicago and Nashville.

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Belong Gaming Arenas fit in spaces from 4,000 to 14,000 square feet, and Belong Gaming CEO Martyn Gibbs, a veteran gaming industry executive, said the company wants to try a variety of retail formats during this initial phase of development. “We are locating the first venues where we know there is a hunger for multiple different game types, focused on high schools and colleges but also where there is a professional esport team. You’ll see us in various types of shopping centers as we start to roll out just so that we can get a really good understanding of how we want to develop the competition within each of those types of locations.”

He added, “We have been working with most of the major landlords in America, but we have a lot of small as well as large landlords planned in our activity pipeline.” Gaming works differently from traditional retail, he noted. “Belong is very different. It’s not a retail experience; it’s an entertainment experience. And as such, it’s a learning curve for the landlords about the type of customer we are bringing into their facilities. Customers don’t walk in and purchase something and walk out. Our centers are part of a global network of gamers and communities of gamers that we’re building,” said Gibbs.

Beginning this fall, community members will represent their hometown Belong teams in inter-arena competition against teams across the U.S. and the U.K. Belong locations will serve as home fields for local amateur teams to compete in tournaments, leagues and scrimmages against other teams in the Belong network. Esports Engine, Vindex’s esports technology and solutions company and operator of many of the world’s top esports leagues, will design and operate the daily competitive programming across Belong’s gaming centers.

“Since launching Major League Gaming nearly 20 years ago, it’s been a dream of mine to make the professional esports experience accessible to hometowns across America,” said Vindex co-founder and CEO Mike Sepso. “Through Belong, we are establishing the baseball diamonds and football pitches of esports and gaming to supply the talent development pipeline and grow fandom as the industry continues to mature.”

Belong also is launching a digital platform which will offer news, gaming leaderboards and competition opportunities. Gamers will be able to manage their reservations through the platform, as well as through a mobile app the company is developing.

“We’re called Belong because whatever type of gamer you are or at whatever level you compete, you can come and belong at one of our centers,” said Gibbs, “and coming out of the pandemic, we think the timing is perfect to roll out across the U.S.”