PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread - Page 811

mcgrath618 · #**16201** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 1:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyTone

That would probably be the case, no one could you sustain a business let alone an arena off of one game it would have to be flexible.

I would hope that wasn't the case for this & it will still happen.

Does anyone know if they moved to that building across from the Police HQ on broad? I saw Egaming signs on the windows and renovations happening inside.

The reason it was branded as exclusively OWL is because Comcast/NBC owns the Fusion, and I believe several other Overwatch teams. Blizzard, Comcast, and other major investors bet on OW turning into this huge cultural phenomenon (like CS:GO, TF2, Smash Brothers, LoL, etc) when in reality it was a pretty lackluster game that could never hold its own in a competitive setting.

Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly Overwatch League fans. My ex was a huge fan and took me to a few games, including one in the Met. The first year of its existence it was popular enough that they could have the championships in the WFC, but after that, attendance dwindled. COVID is what sealed the deal.

PHLJD13 · #**16202** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 1:32 PM**

Development news for more restaurant/retail tenants in The Girard in East Market and on Chestnut Street. The rendering of the Wm. Mulherin's Sons outpost looks great.

https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/cap...-20210721.html

Boku · #**16203** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 1:40 PM**

Bummer:

Groundbreaking on Penn’s Landing park over I-95 highway trench pushed back two years

https://whyy.org/articles/groundbrea...ack-two-years/

Quote:

Philadelphia will have to wait two more years for construction to begin on a highway cap over Interstate 95 at Penn’s Landing.

PennDOT Engineering District 6 spokesperson Brad E. Rudolph said the pandemic and other factors had pushed back a timeline that originally sought a 2021 groundbreaking for the long-awaited transformation of the Old City highway trench into parkland. At this point, state officials expect to put the project out to bid late next year with construction starting in 2023.

The delay will push back the park’s opening to 2024. Planners had initially expected to welcome visitors in 2024.

I think that's a typo in the last sentence. I assume the park opening will be pushed back to 2026 now, if they actually still go through with it.

PHLtoNYC · #**16204** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 1:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boku

Bummer:

Groundbreaking on Penn’s Landing park over I-95 highway trench pushed back two years

https://whyy.org/articles/groundbrea...ack-two-years/

I think that's a typo in the last sentence. I assume the park opening will be pushed back to 2026 now, if they actually still go through with it.

What a mess. This should be one of PennDots top priorities. If it is completed and beautiful by 2026, I will still be happy though. 2026 is Philadelphia's year.

PHLtoNYC · #**16205** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 1:55 PM**

Blighted Warehouse at 25th & Oakford is Going Residential

http://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-phill...ng-residential

Great development! Separately, I was unaware of the CSX issue and how contentious is has become. I hope CSX is held fully responsible for their renege. Info on that below...

https://southphillyreview.com/2021/0...oject-is-dead/

PHL10 · #**16206** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 1:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

What a mess. This should be one of PennDots top priorities. If it is completed and beautiful by 2026, I will still be happy though. 2026 is Philadelphia's year.

I'd have to think that the idea is to have it done for the Semiquincentennial. We need Old City construction zone disaster for the 250th!

mcgrath618 · #**16207** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 2:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHLJD13

Development news for more restaurant/retail tenants in The Girard in East Market and on Chestnut Street. The rendering of the Wm. Mulherin's Sons outpost looks great.

https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/cap...-20210721.html

Wrong link.

https://www.inquirer.com/food/mulher...-20210721.html

Redddog · #**16208** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 2:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boku

Bummer:

Groundbreaking on Penn’s Landing park over I-95 highway trench pushed back two years

https://whyy.org/articles/groundbrea...ack-two-years/

I think that's a typo in the last sentence. I assume the park opening will be pushed back to 2026 now, if they actually still go through with it.

Welp. So much for that.

Next will be the expose on where all the money went.

mcgrath618 · #**16209** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 2:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redddog

Welp. So much for that.

Next will be the expose on where all the money went.

It hasn’t been cancelled yet. Don’t put the cart before the horse.

iamrobk · #**16210** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 3:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Wrong link.

https://www.inquirer.com/food/mulher...-20210721.html

https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...et#post7541364

I was right to be hype about East Market 5 years ago!!

TonyTone · #**16211** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 5:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayfar

It looks like you'd have to be talking about the historic Terminal Commerce Building at 401 N. Broad, which largely functions as a 'carrier hotel' housing telcos and network providers. I found a zoning appeal scheduled to be heard by ZBA today, according to atlas:

https://atlas.phila.gov/401%20N%20BROAD%20ST/zoning
ZP-2021-003253
PERMIT FOR A NIGHT CLUB AND PRIVATE CLUB ( MAXIMUM OF 500 PEOPLE) (Accommodate general escort competition and spectatorship as well as participant or spectator recreation to observe and participate in the training, development and competition of electronic gamers with accessory preparation and serving of food ) AT FIRST ON THE SAME LOT WITH ALL OTHER USES AS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED. NO SIGN ON THIS APPLICATION.
07/21/2021

Listed for 2pm today (that's always just a very rough estimate)
https://www.phila.gov/zba/appeals-ca...ZP-2021-003253

Instructions for joining Zoom meeting: https://admin.phila.gov/media/202009...uctions-v3.pdf

Ahh there we go, so looks like we got some E-Sports gaming in the city.

TonyTone · #**16212** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 5:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

The reason it was branded as exclusively OWL is because Comcast/NBC owns the Fusion, and I believe several other Overwatch teams. Blizzard, Comcast, and other major investors bet on OW turning into this huge cultural phenomenon (like CS:GO, TF2, Smash Brothers, LoL, etc) when in reality it was a pretty lackluster game that could never hold its own in a competitive setting.

Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly Overwatch League fans. My ex was a huge fan and took me to a few games, including one in the Met. The first year of its existence it was popular enough that they could have the championships in the WFC, but after that, attendance dwindled. COVID is what sealed the deal.

They are better off trying to sponsor Dota, or the new type of game like Fortnite & COD War Zone. Those seem to have a strong anchor of players.

I don't know what the investors were thinking about Overwatch but it didn't have that momentum like the games you or I mentioned. it was/is a big game though.

Hopefully it isn't canceled and they are trying to get it in order.

iamrobk · #**16213** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 6:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyTone

They are better off trying to sponsor Dota, or the new type of game like Fortnite & COD War Zone. Those seem to have a strong anchor of players.

I don't know what the investors were thinking about Overwatch but it didn't have that momentum like the games you or I mentioned. it was/is a big game though.

Hopefully it isn't canceled and they are trying to get it in order.

Last I heard about the arena (which was around a month or so ago) is that it's on hold due to COVID but isn't cancelled. My understanding was that while Overwatch was what they were going to be pushing, it wasn't really being built as an Overwatch-specific facility or anything like that, so even though Overwatch is dead/dying, I think there's still a good chance it's built. But who knows.

Vince_ · #**16214** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 7:48 PM**

Yeah I know they were billing it as an eSports arena but I was under the impression it would be used for other events/TED talks/concerts. Imagine them getting DJs for after concert parties when a Wells Fargo Center show raps up at 11 PM. Pretty easy to get 2,000 people from a 20,000 person show or 70,000 person eagles game.

mcgrath618 · #**16215** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 7:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vince_

Yeah I know they were billing it as an eSports arena but I was under the impression it would be used for other events/TED talks/concerts. Imagine them getting DJs for after concert parties when a Wells Fargo Center show raps up at 11 PM. Pretty easy to get 2,000 people from a 20,000 person show or 70,000 person eagles game.

Not if the Eagles keep playing the way they have

philly_account12 · #**16216** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 8:30 PM**

Feel the need to push back on the Overwatch pessimism a little bit. I definitely don't agree that its a dead game. I could buy the idea that the current version is a bit "dead" but with the sequel coming out (possibly) next year it is way too early to declare the league or game as dead.

Quote:

I don't know what the investors were thinking about Overwatch but it didn't have that momentum like the games you or I mentioned. it was/is a big game though.

The reason Overwatch was chosen was specifically because of the city based teams format. Blizzard's idea for Overwatch League was to make it as close to the US professional sports model as possible (each team is tied to a city and the plan was to have teams play "home games" in their respective cities). A large part of the reason Comcast bid to be Philly's team owner was to further cement their brand as Philadelphia's main company and to continue their investments in ESports.

Quote:

They are better off trying to sponsor Dota, or the new type of game like Fortnite & COD War Zone.

Comcast formed the ESports company T1 as joint venture between them and SK Telecom. T1 has teams in those first two games and a ton of others. They (Comcast) also own G4 (the video game tv network) and are one of the investors in N3rd street gaming (and the CEO's son is on N3rd's board). They're making so many investments into this area that I would be very surprised if a stadium does not get built.

It may not end up being "Fusion arena", but just like their ownership of the Wells Fargo Center means they sort of have the large concert/sporting events market cornered, they're almost definitely going to try to do the same to the ESports/medium sized events market with this stadium. In my opinion its way more of a "when" question than an "if".

TonyTone · #**16217** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 9:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by philly_account12

Feel the need to push back on the Overwatch pessimism a little bit. I definitely don't agree that its a dead game. I could buy the idea that the current version is a bit "dead" but with the sequel coming out (possibly) next year it is way too early to declare the league or game as dead.

The reason Overwatch was chosen was specifically because of the city based teams format. Blizzard's idea for Overwatch League was to make it as close to the US professional sports model as possible (each team is tied to a city and the plan was to have teams play "home games" in their respective cities). A large part of the reason Comcast bid to be Philly's team owner was to further cement their brand as Philadelphia's main company and to continue their investments in ESports.

Comcast formed the ESports company T1 as joint venture between them and SK Telecom. T1 has teams in those first two games and a ton of others. They (Comcast) also own G4 (the video game tv network) and are one of the investors in N3rd street gaming (and the CEO's son is on N3rd's board). They're making so many investments into this area that I would be very surprised if a stadium does not get built.

It may not end up being "Fusion arena", but just like their ownership of the Wells Fargo Center means they sort of have the large concert/sporting events market cornered, they're almost definitely going to try to do the same to the ESports/medium sized events market with this stadium. In my opinion its way more of a "when" question than an "if".

Ok now I understand, that makes perfect sense, I'm glad to hear we have this level of involvement in gaming in the city thats great!!

It's also good to hear Comcast was investing into this, its of course a no brainer on their end but still a smart move and good for the people who wanna participate in E-Sports.

I havent heard anything about Overwatch in a while I'm more of a Battlefield/Halflife/Tf2/GTA type of guy myself I really don't like the Fortnite type of gameplay but I've played it before.

Also is that was N3RD st is? the gaming & tech area, I was wondering what that street sign meant the other day.

philly_account12 · #**16218** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 10:13 PM**

Quote:

I havent heard anything about Overwatch in a while.

There are actually a ton of reasons for that.

To start, Overwatch League's main goal of home games in each team's city never got a chance to materialize. In 2019, they started with 3 homestands (basically mini in season tournaments in Dallas/LA/Atlanta hosted by the home teams). They used that to expand into the full season being hosted in home team cities. Unfortunately, that season started in February 2020 so the in person events got cancelled pretty quickly for obvious reasons. This year they're just starting to do some in person events again but its closer to the homestead format and not an actual traveling league. There are also a ton of teams in the league in Europe and Asia so logistics are a nightmare I'm sure.

The other reasons all have to do with Blizzard (the company that made Overwatch). Blizzard has had some really bad press over the couple years for being a terrible company (mainly due to laying off ~10% of their employees in 2019 and coming out on the wrong side of the Hong Kong-China situation among other things). Additionally, they've been working on Overwatch 2 for a while now and while its sort of a sequel its also basically a big addition to the base game. In preparation for that they've been doing the minimum amount of maintenance on the original game. On top of all of that the game director and "face" of the development team since the game was created left the company in April.

Quote:

Also is that was N3RD st is? the gaming & tech area, I was wondering what that street sign meant the other day.

Yeah N3rd Street Gaming/Nerd Street Gaming is the same company. Its a startup created by Drexel students in NoLibs (on N 3rd Street) that is building what are essentially local e-sports community centers. The idea being that they're spaces to host local tournaments and other events while also providing access to people who lack equipment/internet connections to be able to rent gaming equipment by the hour.

They're the ones applying for the permit further up the thread to build a big esports campus at 401 N. Broad.

TonyTone · #**16219** Posted **Jul 21, 2021, 10:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by philly_account12

There are actually a ton of reasons for that.

To start, Overwatch League's main goal of home games in each team's city never got a chance to materialize. In 2019, they started with 3 homestands (basically mini in season tournaments in Dallas/LA/Atlanta hosted by the home teams). They used that to expand into the full season being hosted in home team cities. Unfortunately, that season started in February 2020 so the in person events got cancelled pretty quickly for obvious reasons. This year they're just starting to do some in person events again but its closer to the homestead format and not an actual traveling league. There are also a ton of teams in the league in Europe and Asia so logistics are a nightmare I'm sure.

The other reasons all have to do with Blizzard (the company that made Overwatch). Blizzard has had some really bad press over the couple years for being a terrible company (mainly due to laying off ~10% of their employees in 2019 and coming out on the wrong side of the Hong Kong-China situation among other things). Additionally, they've been working on Overwatch 2 for a while now and while its sort of a sequel its also basically a big addition to the base game. In preparation for that they've been doing the minimum amount of maintenance on the original game. On top of all of that the game director and "face" of the development team since the game was created left the company in April.

Yeah N3rd Street Gaming/Nerd Street Gaming is the same company. Its a startup created by Drexel students in NoLibs (on N 3rd Street) that is building what are essentially local e-sports community centers. The idea being that they're spaces to host local tournaments and other events while also providing access to people who lack equipment/internet connections to be able to rent gaming equipment by the hour.

They're the ones applying for the permit further up the thread to build a big esports campus at 401 N. Broad.

Holy shit, this is pretty exciting I didn't know Philly has this level of tech & gaming in the city, that N3RD HQ is beautiful. good stuff their doing as well basically bringing back arcade rooms in new form.

Also that sucks for Overwatch they basically got kicked when they were coming up the pandemic defiantly messed them up. Hopefully they can make a comeback with things starting back up & the new overwatch game in the works. plus the flooding and issues over in that part of the world defiantly isn't helping.

I can see it working out thought it has good backing just happened at a bad time.

arkitect13 · #**16220** Posted **Jul 22, 2021, 4:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vince_

Yeah I know they were billing it as an eSports arena but I was under the impression it would be used for other events/TED talks/concerts. Imagine them getting DJs for after concert parties when a Wells Fargo Center show raps up at 11 PM. Pretty easy to get 2,000 people from a 20,000 person show or 70,000 person eagles game.

if i remember correctly thats what it is/was? supposed to be. Overwatch league, concerts, comedy shows, etc