Economic impact report released for Six Major Raleigh

Media and esports agency Big Block has released an economic impact report that estimates the value brought by Rainbow 6 Siege event Six Major Raleigh.

The report states that the event, ran by Ubisoft and ESL, unlocked $1.45 million (£1.18 million) in direct economic impact for Raleigh, North Carolina.

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Six Major Raleigh, hosted at the Raleigh Convention Center, is said to have generated over 1,000 job inquiries and attracted more than 2,600 daily attendees, with over 70% of attendees travelling from other states or countries. The event was broadcast on Twitch in 15 languages and was watched for over 6 million hours.

Loren Gold, Executive Vice President of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau discussed the location as an esports hub: “As esports grows, we believe that Greater Raleigh can serve as a global hub for the whole industry. Our motto is ‘Play. Watch. Make’, which means that the Greater Raleigh community not only plays and watches esports, but we also make and design the software and technologies that help power the global esports industry.”

The event was sponsored by the likes of HyperX, Predator, Pepsi and PayPal, whilst local brand partners in Celito.net and VisitRaleigh also lent support.

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Ed Tomasi, Managing Director of Esports at Big Block added: “Esports is not something that can be homegrown overnight. By leveraging our team’s twenty-plus years of collective relationships, trust and experience in global esports production and brand management, Greater Raleigh has quickly been elevated on the global stage for having the facilities and ecosystem for hosting world-class esports events.”

As a result of the Major’s success, the Greater Raleigh Esports Local Organizing Committee (GRELOC) has been formed. The group has committed to a three-to-five year plan to bring esports events to the area and work with local brands in an effort to grow the Greater Raleigh esports ecosystem. The group will be chaired by Visit Raleigh, GRSA, and Big Block.

Esports Insider says: Reports such as this are an important case study for any location that’s looking to welcome esports. It does a good job at showcasing how beneficial esports can be for an area. With impressive local engagement and future events seemingly on the way, Greater Raleigh could become commonplace in esports in the coming years.

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