North Carolina is the only state with this economic incentive for esports. What to know.

Video games have always been a positive part of Rohanna White’s life. When she was a child, her mother had a demanding work schedule, and she would spend time playing games with her younger brother.

“I think games was kind of like that comfort for me,” she said.

As she grew older, she continued to play video games, which connected her not only with her brother, but with people all across the world.

White, a rising senior at Panther Creek High School in Cary, wanted to bring the feeling of community that she has found through video games to her peers, which led her to start the school’s esports club in September of 2022. The club has already amassed 180 members, but White said she does her best to get the rest of the school involved — an average of 200 students will attend the club’s monthly, school-wide tournaments

White and her club are also expanding outside of the school — there are two competitive teams, varsity and junior varsity, both of which attended an inter-high school esports competitions that the club helps to put on. The first of these events was held in April at Triangle Esports Academy in Cary, where Panther Creek played against Holly Springs High School. The competition was the game Valorant, a PC game that is described as a “free-to-play first-person tactical hero shooter” game that includes five players on each team.

White said the club has had a positive effect on her high school experience and on the lives of other members. She describes the club as an inclusive experience that has given students the opportunity to form bonds with one another.

“It’s definitely been something extremely positive for the members in our competitive teams,” she said. “Their grades have improved, because they have support, because it’s a mix of freshmen and sophomores and juniors and seniors. And they’re there to support each other not just throughout the games, but academically, too, because they’re creating these strong friendships with each other.”

White and her group are not the only ones in the Triangle who are interested in esports — in high schools or professionally. The growing industry has also been growing in North Carolina, and an economic incentive for professional esports events in the state illustrates the interest in the industry.

What is the Esports Industry Grant Program?

North Carolina’s esports incentive is the only of its kind in the country.

Through the North Carolina Esports Industry Grant Program, the state offers financial rebates of up to 25% of qualified expenses, according to the program’s website. To qualify, a production must directly spend at least $150,000 in North Carolina per event. Up to $5 million can be awarded each fiscal year.

Loren Gold, executive vice president of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the grant program was patterned after the NC Film Grant, and many game publishers and game production companies reached out to the convention and visitors bureau after its announcement, which has been a “game changer,” for Raleigh and the state as a whole.

The convention and visitors bureau evaluates each business opportunity to gauge direct economic impact, return-on-investment to the community and tax collections for lodging and food & beverage, Gold said.

“Quite simply, we have a strong ecosystem of private esports companies, academic faculty and state and municipal government thought leaders that see the value of partnering and connecting to this multibillion-dollar industry for not only events but long-term strategy for jobs and economic development,” he said.

The Raleigh area has hosted four major national and international esports events over the last year — Apex Legends Global Series Championship from Electronic Arts; Fortnite FNCS Invitation from Epic Games; Call of Duty Major 1 from Activision-Blizzard; and League of Legends LCS Spring Finals from Riot Games, according to Gold. He said the events represented three different game genres — Battle Royale, First Person Shooter and Multi-Player Online Battle Arena.

The LCS Spring Finals generated $2.74 million in direct economic impact in Wake County and supported 1,178 jobs, according to a press release from Riot Games and Visit Raleigh.

More esports-related events in the area are already in the works. Northstar Meetings Group announced Raleigh as the upcoming host for the 2024 EsportsTravel Summit, which is a business conference focused on esports tournaments and events, as well as “the role of the travel industry in the continued growth of video gaming and esports.” The event will be held May 29-31, 2024.

Durham has not seen the same economic development from esports.

Matt Gladdek, vice president of economic development for the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, said he is not aware of the grant having an impact on economic development in Durham County. However, the grant program does not require a county match, so an esports producer could create an event and apply for a grant without the chamber’s involvement, he said. While the chamber is not currently working on any esports projects, “ they will be in our radar if a good opportunity comes forward,” Gladdek said.

What’s next for esports in the Triangle and North Carolina?

Caleb Smith, owner, founder and executive director of Triangle Esports Academy in Cary, said he doesn’t believe the economic incentive has done a lot to boost esports in the area. But he does think it’s a smart move to bring revenue to the state’s economy and can provide opportunities for young people to get involved in the industry.

Triangle Esports Academy describes itself as a “hands-on gaming, esports, & STEM education and youth development organization.”

Smith said his business has also helped organizers find staff for events in the area, which he thinks can be helpful for people wanting to get a job in esports.

“It’s really great because we’re able to employ people and I reached out to a lot of universities, so their students were able to add to their resume... It’s something that’s great for experience because getting a job in esports (is challenging), especially with all the recent layoffs,” Smith said.

He said other parts of the country are more prominent in esports, especially professionally, such as Atlanta. But he said he sees scholastic esports growing, such as college programs and the high school club White heads at Panther Creek.

“It’s not about being super competitive and people who play esports in college are not looking to go pro with it — they want to do it as an extracurricular, something to do to have fun and be part of a community,” Smith said.

Many colleges in North Carolina have been dipping their toes into esports. In 2021 and 2022, North Carolina State University received $12 million from the North Carolina General Assembly to build an esports area on campus and $4 million to develop a mobile arena truck to bring esports competitions and activities to other parts of the state. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also has the The Carolina Gaming Area, which hosts the school’s esports club.

Away from the Triangle, UNC Greensboro’s Bryan School of Business and Economics has an esports management concentration that is “designed to prepare individuals for careers in esports administration and management with a focus on esports operations, such as event management and marketing, destination management, and strategic planning,” according to the program’s website. “This is a business degree that provides you with a strong foundation in the functional areas of business with additional coursework that dives into the dynamic business of competitive gaming.”

Jeff Palumbo, the global senior product manager for esports at Lenovo, has worked with schools in the area not only to install PC computers for esports but to fully develop their esports programs.

Palumbo said only about 10% of students at these programs are interested in competitive esports, such as being on teams — many students go to esports for the community aspect.

“The other 90% you know, just want to hangout because it’s a great health and wellness place, [diversity, equity and inclusion] is great there because gamers are accepting of pretty much everybody,” he said.

All in all, Palumbo believes that North Carolina has the potential to be “amazing” at esports.

“I think what you’re going to see in the future from North Carolina, is while we’re hosting these events, and bringing people, which is great for revenue for the city of Raleigh, and others that are going to replicate it, I think what you’re going to find in the future is how do we take that from high school to college, to internships, and turn them into jobs and careers that can be started here as well,” Palumbo said.