Stockton/NJEDA Chief Economic Growth Officer Brian Sabina and Stockton University President Harvey Kesselman sign the Memorandum of Understanding at the Stockton University Atlantic City campus, where the new center will be located.
TRENTON – The New Jersey Economic Development Authority and Stockton University signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday, June 22 enabling the NJEDA to provide $200,000 in funding plus staff resources to Stockton University for its esports initiative, which includes establishing an Esports Innovation Center at the university’s Atlantic City campus. The center is expected to advance the goal of establishing Atlantic City as a hub for the rapidly growing esports industry.
“Esports presents a rare chance to cultivate an entirely new industry that will create good paying, skilled jobs, along with an opportunity to build industry leadership,” Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver said. “With a renowned higher education partner like Stockton University, and our unparalleled pool of technology talent, I am confident that New Jersey is well-equipped to support the rapidly growing esports industry and the economic potential it can offer our residents and small businesses.”
The esports industry has swiftly grown in popularity in the United States, with total revenues in North America projected to reach $250 million this year and a viewing audience of 57 million people. By 2025, the industry is expected to reach $9 billion globally.
The esports industry can help diversify New Jersey’s tourism and entertainment sector and be a source of new high quality, high wage jobs, such as software engineers, product developers and content provision/event production roles. The industry is large and rapidly growing, with total esports employment in the U.S. nearly doubling from the second quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2020.
“Creating new innovation focused spaces and centers of knowledge where industry stakeholders can collaborate and gain expertise is an important element of catalyzing the state’s innovation economy,” NJEDA Chief Economic Growth Officer Brian Sabina said. “The NJEDA is proud to support this important project, and we look forward to working with Dr. Kesselman and the team at Stockton University to build New Jersey’s leadership in this emerging and exciting industry.”
Thanks to New Jersey’s strong technology infrastructure and innovation ecosystem, the esports industry has already taken root in the state, and the Esports Innovation Center will build on that momentum to establish New Jersey and Atlantic City as the epicenter of esports growth. This center will also be a huge step forward in creating the most diverse innovation ecosystem in the country and will help to close the racial and gender wage and employment gaps.
“The new Esports Innovation Center will work with Stockton and industry partners to position Atlantic City and New Jersey as esports leaders and help shape the future of the esports landscape,” Stockton University President Harvey Kesselman said. “Esports industry partners will have the ability to become members of the Esports Innovation Center and join in the center’s research, events, and activities.”
Among other activities, the center will focus on catalyzing collaborative technology innovation, supporting workforce development within the esports industry, positioning New Jersey and Atlantic City as an esports leader through events and thought leadership, identifying and promoting best practices for regulating wagering on esports and ensuring integrity in competitions, and promoting diversity and inclusion, as well as healthy gaming practices, as essential components of esports culture.
The Esports Innovation Center will also work with the Division of Gaming Enforcement and independent bodies that govern integrity in competitions to position New Jersey as a national leader in regulation and integrity practices for esports and will promote diversity and inclusion, as well as healthy gaming practices, in the esports industry.
More information about the Esports Innovation Center and Stockton University’s other esports programs is available at https://sites.google.com/stockton.edu/stockton-esports/home.
