September 8 2020

 Ian Ritchie Architects and Northern Lights Arena Europe (NLAE) have unveiled concept plans for a multipurpose esports arena at Slessor Gardens on Dundee waterfront.

The multipurpose venue will serve as the latest addition to the city's burgeoning waterfront offer, bringing a 4,000 seat capacity to the riverfront.

Conceived principally as a venue for professional video game competitions the arena would host teams vying for status in a rapidly expanding market.

Abertay University and Dundee & Angus College have capitalised on this growth by offering a range of esports specific courses and have agreed to partner on the venture by providing student facilities.

Dundee City Council has entered into an 18-month exclusivity agreement with the developer to pursue the vision, which could be augmented by an esports academy and a conventional indoor sports venue.

In a statement, the architects wrote: "Ian Ritchie Architects are the architect for this project and have conceived an exciting new development centred on a revolutionary new multi-purpose digital arena. It is to be located on a prominent site next to Slessor Gardens at Dundee’s billion-pound waterfront, and near the prestigious V&A Dundee adjacent to the Tay Road Bridge and will create a significant new addition to the landscape of the city.

"Cutting edge facilities and technical infrastructure for the arena and academic campus will be designed with Nottingham Trent University’s Creative Technology faculty, Confetti. Technology partners including Amazon Web Services, and low-carbon energy provider Vital Energi will guarantee that Dundee has a state-of-the-art facility for the 21st century."

Over the coming months, initial design concepts will be formalised with Dundee cited as the first of several related ventures which NLAE is pursuing.

3 Comments

#1 Posted by Terra on 9 Sep 2020 at 04:29 AM

Thats braw! nice to see this when its done!
The two Dundee football teams should build a new stadium and share it. other local rivals do it, like Milan.
Their current stadia, especially Dundees (United's is pretty nice) is well past its prime.

#2 Posted by Craig McCracken on 9 Sep 2020 at 17:40 PM

The Dundee waterfront has been a series of promising swings and near misses. Let's hope this is a home run.

#3 Posted by Sheena Mcdonald on 10 Sep 2020 at 11:47 AM

Looking forward to see it when completed. Dundee has a lovely view at the water front. Proud to be from Dundee love the changes over the years.

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