When Melbourne’s dedicated esports arena opened in late 2024, the reaction was split between genuine excitement and cautious scepticism. The excitement was understandable — Australia finally had a purpose-built venue for competitive gaming events. The scepticism was also understandable — dedicated esports venues have a mixed track record globally.

One year in, the picture is complicated. The venue has done some things well and others not so well. Here’s the honest assessment.

What’s working

The space itself is excellent. The arena was designed for esports from the ground up, and it shows. Sight lines are good from every seat. The lighting is designed for broadcast without being uncomfortable for the audience. The sound system handles both arena audio and commentary broadcast without the muddy overlap that plagues multi-purpose venues.

The main stage holds about 500 spectators, which is the right size for the Australian market. Big enough to feel like an event, small enough to fill consistently. The venue also has practice rooms, a casual gaming area, and a bar/café space that doubles as a viewing area for smaller events.

Community events are thriving. The venue runs weekly tournaments for multiple games, and attendance has been steady. Tuesday night Fighting Game Community events regularly draw 60 to 80 people. Weekend VALORANT and Counter-Strike tournaments fill the practice rooms. These aren’t huge numbers, but they’re consistent, and consistency is what builds a community.

Broadcast quality is professional. Events streamed from the venue look and sound significantly better than the DIY productions that characterised Australian esports for years. Multiple camera angles, proper audio mixing, and graphics packages that don’t look like they were made in Microsoft Paint. This matters for sponsors and for the audience’s perception of esports as legitimate entertainment.

What’s not working

Big events are too infrequent. The main stage has hosted maybe eight or nine major events in its first year. That’s not enough to justify the capital investment in a 500-seat arena. The venue is clearly designed for more, but the demand for large-scale Australian esports events hasn’t materialised at the rate the operators hoped.

Part of this is a chicken-and-egg problem. You need a track record of successful events to attract more events. But you need events to build that track record. The venue is in the early stages of this cycle.

Food and drink pricing is aggressive. $8 for a soft drink. $15 for a basic burger. $12 for a beer. These prices are in line with other entertainment venues in Melbourne, but the esports audience skews younger and more price-sensitive than a concert or sporting crowd. I’ve watched people bring their own food and drinks rather than buy from the venue, which can’t be the intended outcome.

Transport access is mediocre. The venue’s location in inner Melbourne is fine for people who live centrally, but getting there from the outer suburbs — where a lot of the gaming audience lives — involves either driving (parking is limited and expensive) or a combination of trains and trams. A more accessible location would improve attendance.

The venue feels underutilised during the week. Outside of the weekly community events, the venue is mostly empty Monday through Thursday. Some esports venues in Asia and Europe have addressed this by offering the space for corporate events, school programs, and private hire. The Melbourne venue is starting to do this but should be more aggressive about it.

The financial picture

I don’t have access to the venue’s financials, but based on observable data — ticket prices, attendance numbers, sponsorship signage, and food/drink revenue — I’d estimate the venue is not yet profitable. That’s expected for a year-one entertainment venue, but the path to profitability requires either more events, higher attendance, or both.

Sponsorship is the key revenue stream that could make the difference. The venue has several sponsors whose branding is prominent throughout the space. If they can secure more long-term partnerships with gaming peripheral brands, energy drink companies, and telcos, the financial picture improves significantly.

What needs to change

More programming. The venue should be running events five to six nights a week, not two or three. Partner with more game communities. Host viewing parties for international events. Run amateur leagues with regular season schedules. Fill the calendar.

Better transport integration. Negotiate with PTV for event-specific transport. Even a shuttle from a major train station on event nights would help.

Cheaper food and drink. The margins on a $8 Coke are great if people buy them. They’re zero if people don’t. Drop prices, increase volume.

Corporate and education partnerships. Schools, universities, and corporate team-building are all potential revenue streams that don’t depend on esports event scheduling. Pursue them aggressively.

The venue has the foundation right. The space is good, the community wants it to succeed, and Melbourne is the right city for it. But year two needs to be about filling the building more often and making it accessible to a broader audience. The potential is there. The execution needs to catch up.