Full Sail University is proud to announce its 11,200-square foot state-of-the-art esports arena, known as The Fortress, has been nominated in the category of “Outstanding Venue” by the 2019 SportTechie Awards. Winners will be announced via the SportTechie website under this category on Tuesday, December 31, and the impact of each nominee will be featured at SportTechie’s annual “State of the Industry” conference at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center on March 26-27.

The 2019 SportTechie Awards include 33 nominees across six categories including: Outstanding Team, Outstanding Executive, Outstanding Technology, Outstanding Venue, Outstanding Innovation and Outstanding Athlete. This year’s nominees feature a notable list of world-renowned brands, teams, innovations and personalities including, but not limited to, the following:

• U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team
• Manchester City
• Toronto Raptors
• Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson
• Warriors Gaming’s Chiquita Evans
• New York Yankees RHP, Adam Ottavino
• Turner Sports GM, Tina Shah
• Golden State Warriors COO, Rick Welts
• DRL Racer AI
• Nike Vaporfly 4%
• PlayMaker
• Intel True View

The Fortress at Full Sail University is nominated in the category of “Outstanding Venue” alongside:

• Al Janoub Stadium which opened this past May in the city of Al Wakrah, Qatar. The 40,000-seat stadium will be one of eight venues hosting the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
• Chase Center located on the fringes of Silicon Valley, this 18,000-seat arena is home to the Golden State Warriors.
• Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has two of the largest video screens in Western European Soccer Stadiums. The 62,062-capacity venue has separate fields for its primary resident, the English Premier League’s Spurs, and for the 10 years of annual NFL games that will be played there.
• The UFC Performance Institute is a 30,000-square-foot facility attached to the UFC front office headquarters off the Las Vegas Strip. After opening in 2017, the $14 million facility became a center for UFC’s rostered athletes to train on site.

According to the SportTechie website, “each candidate has made an unmistakable impact on the ever-evolving sports technology space.” The Fortress at Full Sail University was unveiled in May 2019, and to date is the largest collegiate esports arena on any college or university campus in the United States. The Fortress combines the latest technology with versatility – allowing for 100 esports athletes to play simultaneously while spectators view the action live. Some of the unique features of The Fortress include: 10 million pixels of LED wall to support visuals/graphics, live-stream capabilities, dynamic sound and lighting solutions, a 360-video rig, and a giant, high-resolution LED screen to ensure every seat in the house has a clear view of the action. Since opening its doors earlier this year, The Fortress has hosted notable professional esports events such as Red Bull Conquest, The 2019 Hearthstone Collegiate Championship Fall Finals and more.

About Full Sail University:

Full Sail University is an award-winning educational leader for those pursuing careers in entertainment, media, arts and technology. Founded in 1979, Full Sail has received accolades throughout its 40-year history, including most recently: One of the 2019 “Top Graduate & Undergraduate Schools to Study Game Design” by The Princeton Review, one of the 2019 “Top 50 Film Schools” by The Wrap Magazine, and was also named the 2019 “School/College of the Year” by the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges.

Full Sail University is a graduate and undergraduate degree-granting institution offering on-campus and online degree programs in areas related to Art & Design, Business, Film & Television, Games, Media & Communications, Music & Recording, Sports, and Technology. With over 70,000+ graduates worldwide, Full Sail alumni have worked on countless award-winning projects with individual recognition including OSCAR®, Emmy®, GRAMMY®, ADDY®, MTV Video Music Award, and Video Game Award honors.

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