N3rd Street Gamers (NSG), a Jarvus venture led by entrepreneurs John Fazio and Rob Hilsky, announced a strategic investment led by venture capital firm, SeventySix Capital, managed by Wayne Kimmel, Jon Powell and Ryan Howard.
Founded in 2009, NSG empowers esports communities with arena facilities, production studios, gaming equipment, administration and broadcast services. SeventySix Capital, launched in 1999, is a leading venture capital firm that invests in consumer-facing technology companies in the sports, retail and health industries.
“There’s no denying that esports are rapidly growing in popularity,” said Ryan Howard, MLB superstar and Partner at SeventySix Capital, “Events and leagues are now broadcast to tens of millions of viewers online and on traditional television.”
With the investment from SeventySix Capital and private investor George Miller, NSG will expand their dedicated esports arena - Localhost in Philadephia, open new locations across the United States to empower more esports communities and partner with additional major brands and athletes to bring esports further into the spotlight.
A Video Conversation with Wayne Kimmel, Managing Partner of SeventySix Capital
“As the success of leagues continue, the esports industry desperately needs infrastructure like N3rd Street Gamers and Localhost for players to practice, compete and succeed,” said
Wayne Kimmel, Managing Partner of SeventySix Capital.
NSG will also have access to SeventySix Capital’s plethora of industry connections, portfolio company Whistle Sports, a digital sports media company with over 350 million fans and followers, and partner firm Rubicon Talent, a sports and entertainment agency in New York City representing a wide range of clients including MLB legend Cal Ripken, Jr., NFL All-Pro Running Back, DeMarco Murray, NBC Sports’ Dan Hicks, and 3x Olympic Gold Medalist, Kerri Walsh Jennings.
“I want to thank our loyal gaming communities here in Philadelphia and the surrounding region for getting us to where we are today,” said John Fazio, CEO of NSG, “and our partners at SeventySix Capital for their confidence and investment, which will allow us to deliver our unique experiences to people all over the country.”
NSG produces both small- and large-scale esports events for games like CS:GO, StarCraft II, Hearthstone and the recent official Madden Challenger, one of 4 sanctioned in the United States by publisher Electronic Arts (EA). They also host an annual summer championship event bringing in more than 2,500 casual and professional gamers from across the world. On the popular streaming platform Twitch, the 2017 summer event attracted over 22,000 live concurrent viewers.
About N3rd Street Gamers
NSG is headquartered at and operates Localhost, a dedicated esports arena. Opened to the public in June 2017, Localhost is a competitive arena, training facility, and production studio that provides a home for in-person video game competition. Localhost members can drop in to use high end gaming PCs, consoles, or virtual reality systems and participate in multiple weekly event series. Esports communities can rent the arena or hire NSG to produce their events at Localhost. Fans and spectators can experience top tier competition in the studio, set to double in size in early 2018.
About SeventySix Capital
SeventySix Capital, led by Wayne Kimmel, Jon Powell and Ryan Howard, invests in passionate, smart and nice entrepreneurs who are launching game-changing consumer-facing tech companies in the retail, sports and wellness industries. Kimmel founded the fund in 1999 with top exits including SeamlessWeb (now public as GrubHub), Take Care Health Systems and Nutrisystem, the top performing stock in the U.S. for five consecutive years. Among the Fortune 500 companies that have acquired their portfolio companies are Aramark, Intel, IBM, Walgreens, and Yahoo. Powell is also the CEO of Kravco Company LLC, a leading real estate company that developed the King of Prussia Mall. His family was an owner of the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars, the two-time United States Football League champions. Howard, a World Series Champion who is known as one of the all-time great home run hitters, has made a number of successful investments and has experience working with CEOs of top brands. Howard is also an investor in NRG Esports alongside Shaquille O’Neal, Jimmy Rollins, Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez. SeventySix Capital's partners are extremely active in the entrepreneurial and nonprofit communities around the world. For more information on SeventySix Capital, please visit www.SeventySixCapital.com, and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
