Multi million pound creative tech education facility and "e" sports area proposed for Bristol & South West

By Nicky Godding

7 December 2020

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A new creative technology education faculty and esports arena is being proposed for the West of England Institute for Specialist Education (WISE) Further Education College site, Stoke Gifford, Bristol. SGS WISE was opened in 2005 as a vocational centre for sport and the arts.

Northern Lights Arena Europe Limited (NLAE) has been invited by South Gloucestershire & Stroud College (SGS), which operates WISE, to bring forward proposals for a new creative technology and esports education centre of excellence for Bristol and the South West.

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College (SGS) was formed in 2012 by the merger of Filton and Stroud Colleges.

NLAE will be submitting detailed proposals for the enhancement of the existing WISE campus, which could include a new education faculty of creative technology and esports education and student accommodation. This new faculty will work closely with the existing on-site Bristol Institute of Performing Arts, Bristol Academy of Media and the Bristol School of Art, and the other SGS Campuses.

Keith Hamblin, CEO of the SGS Group, said: “This announcement is the next step towards a development that would put creative technology and esports at the heart of region. We have always prided ourselves on giving students education and training that meets the demands of the changing jobs market and as such, this investment with two leading organisations would put us at the forefront of one of the world’s fastest growing industries. This private sector investment in the skills education of the West of England is a testament to the faith in the future of the creative sector in the south west as we emerge from the pandemic.”

The new faculty would include a circa 1,400-1,500 seat world class esports arena with a global digital streaming capability. This technology will be designed and delivered by NLAE’s partnership with the global technology provider, Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS will also be designing and participating in the delivery of the cloud-based education content to be provided by the new faculty. The technology provided by AWS will also allow SGS to deliver programmes remotely to classes at their other campus locations.

Independent renewable energy company Vital Energi, will work with NLAE and SGS to deliver a zero-carbon energy solution for the new development.

NLAE recently announced its first multi-million-pound 4,000 seat esports arena and campus for the City of Dundee, in partnership with Abertay University, Dundee and Angus College, Amazon Web Services & Education and Dundee City Council.

The Bristol project would be the next major education technology/esports project in NLAE’s expanding UK portfolio, and has a target opening date of September 2023.

Bristol is already recognised as one of the UK’s leading cities for innovation and technology. NLAE’s proposed creative technology faculty and esports event arena will be a game changer for the City and surrounding region. The WISE Campus is already planning to open a new £7 million Specialist Technology and Science building funded by the West of England Combined Authority in March 2021. This was the catalyst for NLAE’s interest in the site and it will provide much needed additional capacity in the area as the demand rises for digital technology.

UKIE, the industry body for games and interactive entertainment in the UK, recently reported that esports currently contributes £111 million to the British economy. Global esports revenues were US$1.1bn in 2020, with a global audience of 495 million. Global revenues are projected to reach US$1.5bn by 2023. The new development in Bristol represents a significant growth opportunity for local and regional employment and economic growth in the digital industries of the future.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.