ALH and Endeavour will unveil a brand-new venue in Sydney this Easter long weekend, stemming from a strategy for the ‘future of venues’ through investment in e-sports pioneer Fortress.
In 2019 Endeavour Group (ASX:EDG) launched a digital and ecommerce arm, endeavourX, to improve the experiences offered within the Group’s stores and pubs.
Fortress Sydney is an ‘e-sports’ venue in Chippendale spanning almost 3,000sqm, comprising a licensed tavern, arcades, video game booths, board game areas and a state-of-the-art esports arena for gaming tournaments.
EDG is targeting pub consumers, investing $3 million into Fortress Sydney, which is as much about hospitality as games, with seating for 240 diners.
Pursuing its vision to lead the enabling of social occasions, the Group suggests technology will continue to change the nature of hospitality and socialising, and Fortress is about creating the “hospitality venue of the future” for ALH.
“Fortress brings people together in a technology-led space, while still offering the best things guests expect in a traditional hospitality venue,” says Paul Walton, ALH interim managing director.
Beyond the fact that millennials and Gen Z are particularly drawn to experiences, many consumers enjoy social gaming. The average age of people who play video games in Australia is now 35 years, and the majority do so socialising at home.
Walton sees the new tavern as a chance for the company to bring the experiences of hospitality and gaming “together”.
Fortress was founded in 2018 by Melbourne tech entrepreneurs Jon Satterley, Adrian Giles and Ryan Trainor, bringing expertise in the entertainment, technology, hospitality and digital marketing industries.
It has grown to become the largest video gaming and esports entertainment franchise in the southern hemisphere, but focuses on both digital and physical channels, and hospitality, eating and drinking, play a big role.
The company opened Fortress Melbourne in 2020, and last year posed the upcoming site in Central.
The investment from endeavourX will help accelerate growth, and is in line with a range of B2B and B2C initiatives aimed at capitalising on the growth of the culture and esports in general.
Fortress proffers that it is able to create smaller versions of the theme inside existing venues, which expands its opportunities, including with EDG.
“We are very pleased to have endeavourX invest alongside us in our Sydney expansion and we look forward to working with the Endeavour Group to explore other potential partnership opportunities,” said Adrian Giles, executive chairman and co-founder.