Mentioned in this article
- Nerd Street Gamers, builder and operator of a network of esports facilities, completed a $12M USD investment led by Philadelphia-based discount retailer Five Below Inc.
- In addition to Five Below, existing investors include telecommunications company Comcast, sports tech venture capital firm SeventySix Capital, and angel investor George Miller participated in the financing.
- Five Below and Nerd Street Gamers plan to build up to 70 esports facilities connected to some of the retailer’s 850 locations across the U.S. in the next several years.
Today, esports infrastructure company Nerd Street Gamers announced the closing of a $12M Series A investment led by publicly-traded discount retailer Five Below Inc. Other participants in the round were existing investors Comcast, SeventySix Capital, and angel investor George Miller.
Nerd Street Gamers’ core business is building and operating esports facilities called Localhost that house leagues, training camps, tournaments, and showcases on professional-grade equipment. As part of the deal, Five Below and the company will build up to 70 or more 3,000 square foot Localhost spaces connected to select Five Below stores over the next several years, beginning with a multi-store pilot in 2020.
“The partnership with gaming expert Nerd Street Gamers is a unique opportunity to engage with an important and growing community of gamers in many of our locations across the country,” said Joel Anderson, CEO of Five Below in a release. “Gaming is a trend our younger customers are actively enjoying, and working with Nerd Street Gamers will help us to provide an exciting gaming experience that appeals to our core customers and beyond, while also showcasing our extreme value technology-related products and accessories. We look forward to providing more experiences for our customers to ‘Let Go & Have Fun!’ while engaging with our communities at a deeper level.”
In addition to the Localhosts venues connected to Five Below stores, Nerd Street Gamers plans to build 50 larger regional and university-based facilities. In August, the company opened Localhost Huntington Beach, a 32,000 square foot local facility, Localhost Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, and announced Localhost Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.
