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FARMINGTON \u2013 Gamers and esports players have a new facility dedicated to the burgeoning sport, as one of the region\u2019s only esports facilities opened last week.<\/p>\n
Nemesis 5 Esports<\/a>, near the corner of Sullivan Avenue and Main Street, officially opened Nov. 22, yet owners Rocky Bridges and Tammy Simpson-Bridges began developing the business in January. The couple renovated the building, which sat empty for three years and previously was home to a series of restaurants.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing like this anywhere,\u201d Simpson-Bridges said. \u201cThere\u2019s not really a place like this to host any event.\u201d<\/p>\n While many participants compete from libraries, schools or their own personal computers, Nemesis 5 Esports is designed and constructed with esports specifically in mind. The facility was retrofitted with 58 PCs, 20 televisions and a system that runs on fiber optics, according to the owners.<\/p>\n Simpson-Bridges said they\u2019ve heard positive feedback from local teams that have organized meetings at nontraditional locations like EntertainMart or Walmart. \u201cIt\u2019s not like your standard sport where you can find a football field or softball field \u2013 this has to be specifically made for them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n While some facilities build their computers to only run certain games, Nemesis 5 Esports designed its computers to be able to run multiple games. \u201cYou can sit down at any computer and play any game,\u201d Bridges said.<\/p>\n The new business opened as esports gains in popularity across the country. Egaming or esports have been around in various forms since the 1970s, but it wasn\u2019t until the past few years that large-scale tournaments for games such as \u201cFortnite,\u201d \u201cLeague of Legends\u201d and \u201cCall of Duty\u201d began drawing a large crowd of participants and fans. Since January, over $190 million have been awarded in 4,129 tournaments with over 21,000 players, compared with 10 years ago, when $4 million was awarded at 655 tournaments, according to esportsearnings.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n The attraction of esports has even spread to high school athletics.<\/p>\n Bridges and Simpson-Bridges said they hope Nemesis 5 Esports will host a few of the high school esports teams. Farmington, Piedra Vista, Aztec, Kirtland Central and Shiprockhigh schools all have their own teams through the New Mexico Activities Association<\/a>, a nonprofit that regulates interscholastic programs for high schools in the state. Simpson-Bridges said NMAA officials are scheduled to visit the facility in December.<\/p>\n The NMAA wrapped its first season of esports in April, after the board of directors voted to sanction the sport in 2018, according to Dusty Young, associate director with the organization. Throughout the state, 30 high schools and over 400 students took part in the inaugural season, and over 50 high schools have registered for next year\u2019s season, according to Young.<\/p>\n \u201cThe facility in Farmington is the first of its kind (in the region) that I know of,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n