Along with improvements that are aimed at making its hockey team better, the Jacksonville Icemen ownership is also investing in an alternative form of competition: esports.
In addition to the two ice rinks, sports bar and protein shop going in at the Community First Igloo — formerly known as Jacksonville Ice and Sportsplex — a 2,000-square-foot area has been set aside for an esports center.
Icemen President Bob Ohrablo said he hopes to become a leader in esports in Jacksonville.
The complete overhaul and expansion of the ice training facility with two rinks is expected to be done by mid-October. The esports center — the shell for which has been built already — should be finished within a few weeks of that, Ohrablo said.
Part of the reason Icemen leadership began thinking about an esports center came from the fact that the team had “some extra space” in the building they were renovating, said Jeff Campol, recreational facilities consultant at Campol Consulting Group, which is overseeing the renovations.
Brainstorming about what to include, the idea for esports came up.
“We looked around [Jacksonville] and there really isn’t too much out there … and now you’re bringing in a completely different demographic, so with the right marketing and the right tools, hopefully it’ll turn out to be something that’ll complement [the other amenities],” he said.
Obrablo said he sees a significant business opportunity in esports, as well as a synergy between the other amenities the Igloo will offer. With more than 220 million esports players around the world and an expected 800,000 to 900,000 visitors to the Igloo each year, the hope is that the esports offering will allow the facility to attract consumers who are less interested in conventional sports.
“Esports fans are not always actual sports fans … so it attracts a whole different crowd that sponsors can’t reach when they sponsor a sporting event,” he said.
The equipment for the esports center — including consoles for at least 50 players — will cost a couple hundred thousand dollars, said Jeff Campol, recreational facilities consultant at Campol Consulting Group, which is overseeing the renovations. He expects it to add “six figures and up” in annual revenue to the Igloo.
The center will be used for youth and adult leagues as well as early-learning, afterschool and early-evening youth programming.
Ohrablo said they could also host themed tournaments, with visitors playing, for example, as the Jacksonville Icemen in NHL 22 against actual Icemen athletes.
“Remember our guys [on the Icemen], many of them are in their early to mid-20s, so they’re esports people, too,” he said.
Igloo leadership expects there to be “a lot of tire kickers or gawkers at first,” Campol said, though they hope they can “turn them into people that’ll be there on a regular basis.”
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