Update – April 28, 08:00 BST: A previous version of this article stated that Spacestation Gaming had created a co-branded esports apparel collection with Mainframe. Spacestation Gaming uses Mainframe for its team jerseys, but that’s the extent of the deal.
Spacestation Gaming – the team owned by YouTube content creator Shaun “Shonduras” McBride – has entered a deal with NBA team Utah Jazz, becoming its official esports partner. The announcement was first made during the basketball team’s playoffs game 6.
Both Utah Jazz and Spacestation Gaming are Utah-based, so this partnership is considered a natural extension for both parties.
https://twitter.com/SpacestationGG/status/989918999331852288
Shaun “Shonduras” McBride, Founder and Owner of Spacestation Gaming said: “Spacestation Gaming is hyped to be affiliated with the Utah Jazz and super excited about all the opportunities ahead of us. We are combining esports with the power of social media and are insanely passionate about our roles as entrepreneurs and educators with the next generation of entertainment.”
B.J. Vander Linden, Chief Information Officer of Utah Jazz told ESPN: “SpaceStation being a local, Utah-based esports organization, they’re going to be able to help continue to push into the esports marketplace. It’s booming. We see this as an opportunity to really enter that marketplace, because it’s so different than your traditional sports environment. With the connections Shaun and his team have, it gives us the opportunity to really get into the space and see what’s going on.”
Utah Jazz had already taken the step into the esports industry when it became one of the NBA teams that were set to take part in the inaugural NBA 2K League season. Utah Jazz’s NBA 2K franchise is known as Jazz Gaming.
Chris Baum, SVP of Sales and Service for Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment also commented: “Our organization seeks innovative ways to engage our fans through basketball from video games to real games. This partnership represents the tip of the spear of what Spacestation Gaming and the Utah Jazz can accomplish together.”
Spacestation Gaming has teams in numerous esports titles, including SMITE, PUBG, Vainglory, Paladins, Rainbox Six Siege, Rocket League, Fortnite Battle Royale, Hearthstone, and Brawlhalla.
Esports Insider says: From what we’ve seen, Spacestation Gaming tend to do things a little differently compared to most esports organisations – mainly due to its owners having backgrounds in content creation – so we’re interested to see what spawns out of its partnership with Utah Jazz.
