Esports facility to be built in Coralville

CORALVILLE — A company based in Burlington, Iowa, is planning to build an esports facility in Coralville.

The city entered a development agreement this month with Lucky Pete LLC to build the facility on property west of the Lowe’s, 2701 Second St., and north of Highway 6.

The Coralville City Council agreed to provide the company with a 15-year, 100 percent tax abatement.

Esports are video games where teams or individuals compete against each other. The competitions are growing in popularity and attract thousands of spectators abroad.

The initial plan for the Coralville facility is to make it flexible, with an auditorium where spectators can watch esport competitions, and also be a place where people can play video games for fun, Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth said.

“It's really flexible the way they're trying to design it, and it would give people an opportunity to experience something that they presently don't have,“ Hayworth said.

Justin Myers, owner of Myers Construction, the contractor for the project, said neither he nor the developer is ready to release information — such as square footage, cost or completion date — since they’re still working through the details.

Providing a 100 percent tax abatement to a project isn’t something the city does often, Hayworth said. The Coralville City Council OK’d this one because the facility is unique and the developer is taking a risk.

The esports facility is part of the city’s Highway 6 revitalization plan, which involves building on two plots of land near Lowe’s. The plots are owned by Colony Real Estate of Waverly and are valued together at $194,800.

The land has been unused for more than 20 years, and Coralville will extend city utilities to the area.

During a council meeting last Tuesday, City Attorney Kevin Olson said the rest of the property would be subdivided, and commercial taxes would be paid by any businesses locating there.

Coralville Mayor Meghann Foster, during a Feb. 27 council discussion, noted the growth in esports and that an esports facility would appeal to people of all ages. She said she isn’t a big gamer but that the facility would appeal to her children.

The new facility also could attract tourism to the area and, in general, be another destination for families, said Luke Eustice, director of the Iowa City Area Sports Commission.

The venue, he said, could be “huge for our community, bringing in a different demographic of people.”

Popularity

Hayworth said the project comes at a time when interest and engagement in esports is increasing, with more high schools and colleges creating programs and teams.

Examples include West High School in Iowa City, which has a team and joined the Iowa High School Esports Association, according to a Feb. 12 news release.

The University of Iowa has an esports team and in September 2022, opened the video game room HawkeyeSports Arcade in the Iowa Memorial Union basement for students to use.

Marshalltown Community College and Iowa State University also have esports teams and rooms, and the community college offers a one-year esports degree.

The MidAmerican Energy RecPlex in West Des Moines also has an esports center open to the public to visit and play.

How esports work

Levi LaRue, the technology director at the North Tama school district and vice president of the Iowa High School Esports Association, said traditional sports and esports have similarities, with both involving two teams competing to win a game.

Esports operate on seasons lasting eight weeks, with postseason games and finals, she said.

The association, he said, “kind of runs our season very similar to football, where it's one game per week on a certain day. If you are scheduled for Friday at four o'clock, you just contact the other coach, you get into a private lobby online, and you just play each other.”

The association runs three seasons per year — fall, winter and spring — that each designate the games to be played. Schools currently are competing in the spring season, playing the games Mario Kart 8, League of Legends and Valorant.

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Proficiency in esports, LaRue said, can lead to college scholarships.

School esport teams usually play games online, traveling only if they are located near the other team. The teams do travel for the postseason and final competitions, held at the Orpheum Theater in Marshalltown.

LaRue said competition in esports is increasing every year.

The Iowa High School Esports Association was established in 2019, and started with a test season involving five or six schools. Today, around 115 schools of all sizes from across the state compete.

LaRue said the organization is run by volunteers, with high school teachers making up its board.

“We are teachers first, and the goal was to create a platform and environment for kids to be able to play esports and go from there,” he said.

‘Soft skills’

Jill Hofmockel is a teacher-librarian and one of the esports coaches at Iowa City West High School, overseeing 15 to 20 students on the esports team each season.

Esports, she said, appeal to many students, especially some who may not be interested in or be able to compete in a traditional sport.

“A lot of a lot of my players have maybe never even been part of a traditional athletic team,” she said. “A lot of the soft skills that they build through their participation in esports are so beneficial, and I would say mirror the skills that kids develop on a traditional athletic team.”

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Parents are happy, too, to see their students involved in a group activity, she said.

“It's always very touching as the coach for parents to share that with me at the end of the season,” Hofmockel said. “Parents have shared with me at the end of the season that … this activity was the thing … that helps their kid feel connected to school.“

Regarding a possible esports facility in Coralville, LaRue and Hofmockel both said they are excited by the possibility of having a venue like that available, especially one with seating for spectators.

“I think teenagers and young people have so few places that they feel like they can just be themselves,” Hofmockel said. “I think providing a location like that, a facility like that for kids is going to be a net positive for lots of different young people.”

Comments: alejandro.rojas@thegazette.com