Recently, ELITE Gaming in downtown Syracuse received a $144,000 grant from Onondaga County that aims to allow them to expand their business and have an even greater economic impact on the area.
Rob O’Connor and Matt Guernsey have owned Elite Gaming Company for a year and a half now. In the short time they’ve been there, business has grown, and this new expansion will allow them to cater to more people not just in Central New York but across the state.
“Be able to bring more students into our facility. We’ll also be able to host larger events to bring in people all over the Northeast to compete in the tournaments which will impact tourism. People will be in hotels, shopping, restaurants etc.,” O’ Connor said.
Currently located in the Museum of Science and Technology, they will be moving from the 6,000 square foot space to 16,000 square feet inside the Atrium Building in Downtown Syracuse.
For O’Connor and Guernsey, it’s more than a game. They currently provide workshops to Syracuse City School District Students to educate them beyond the gaming world.
“Between Graphic artists, IT Work, event management, content creator, streamers, all of those type of things,” Guernsey said. “Here at the facility, we do a lot of hands-on workshops that students will get exposed to those different areas in the gaming industry.”
With the new expansion, they will be able to open their workshops to surrounding school districts.
“Today, Onondaga County generates zero dollars from E-sports,” Guernsey said. “With all the works and events that we’re doing here, it’s going to be a brand-new impact to the economy in Syracuse.”
They hope to be in their new facility by March of next year.
Source: Spectrumlocalnews
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