The Greater Raleigh Esports Local Organizing Committee (GRELOC) is a diverse group of civic, sports and business leaders who support the growth of esports and gaming activities here. The group, which aligns to one market segment being pursued by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRCVB's sports marketing division), has announced an expansion to further position Raleigh/Wake County as a premier destination for esports events in the U.S. 

This comes on the heels of live and virtual esports events driving millions of dollars in economic impact, thousands of jobs and academic, corporate and economic development collaboration with Red Hat, ESL, Ubisoft, Wake Tech Esports, N.C. State, Pepsi, celito.net and more.

To showcase the advancements made over the past few months to the Raleigh area’s position as a premier destination, GRELOC launched a new website (hosted with GRSA's site) and showcase video as a direct result of the ongoing strategy it has developed with esports advisory firm Subnation Media.

Watch the showcase video here:

“GRELOC has seen tremendous success in hosting esports events here in Raleigh prior to and even during this pandemic,” said Loren Gold, executive vice president at GRCVB and GRELOC co-chair. “We’re excited to build off the momentum we’ve generated, bring on new partners such as Red Hat and to showcase Raleigh’s collaborative arts, technology and gaming communities all through these new initiatives.” 

GRELOC has also partnered with Red Hat and the Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA) to develop an art installation in downtown Raleigh that will incorporate augmented reality technologies and interactive features. The mural will be funded through a gift from Red Hat and a matching impact grant awarded to DRA through the City of Raleigh Office of Economic Development and Innovation. Subnation Media has been commissioned to lead the development and implementation of the mural with assistance from DRA.

The mural will be created by Taylor White, a Raleigh native and local who has a history in creating captivating street art. The artwork will include a collage of characters, scenes, hardware and elements that are used in a multitude of game genres and titles. The location of the art installation has yet to be announced, but the mural is expected to be completed this spring.

"The momentum that Raleigh has experienced since Red Hat opened our doors more than 27 years ago is exciting! It's solidified itself as a great place to live, work and play, full of growing businesses, colleges and universities, an innovative culinary scene and robust entertainment options, including esports,” said Leigh Day, vice president of marketing communications + brand at Red Hat. “We're proud to support the creation of this lively mural that will pull together many of the elements that make our community so unique." 

For corporations interested in supporting GRELOC’s and GRSA's efforts to attract and support gaming and esports programming in Wake County, please contact Ed Tomasi.