Wagga could look to e-sports as a future drawcard

Dwayne Nicholls said e-sports competitions were happening in major centres across the globe and there should be no reason for Wagga to miss out.

Mr Nicholls said there was already a strong network of gamers, who play socially and competitively, and they would no doubt support a local tournament in the city.

An e-sports tournament would see either teams or individual players competing against each other in video games, drawing a crowd in to watch the games unfold.

"It is not too dissimilar to ... watching a game of basketball or soccer, but instead you are watching them compete in a video game," Mr Nicholls said.

He said the city and its surrounding towns have the population to "really make a show of it" and attract new spectators and players from near and far.

"There's the social side to it ... gamers spend a lot of time interacting over the internet and I think they would look forward to doing it together in person and then the competitive side is a whole other approach," he said.

"It would be definitely something people will be interested in ... socially and competitively."

Wagga councillor Dan Hayes said there was a demand in the region for e-sports competitions to take place, especially in a time when the pandemic has forced community events to pivot and go online.

He said e-sports was prime for this platform.

Cr Hayes said the city council needed to become early adopters of new activities rather than always looking at top-tier events such AFL and NRL matches.

Although these events are great for the community, he said a regional city also benefits from secondary sports that aren't televised to attract people to the city and fill accommodation.

"Touch football isn't a televised sport, but look at how many people it brought to Wagga because of that. The Clay Target Association isn't a prime-time sporting event, but its wonderful facility brings people to Wagga," he said.

Cr Hayes said there should not be an expectation that e-sports competitions will be a massive event from day dot, but they have the potential to become a big drawcard for Wagga.

"It is an event we can nurture and develop into what is a multibillion-dollar industry," he said.

"With e-sports, knowing what a growing industry it is, there is a definitely an audience and participants in Wagga and the Riverina who would love to be able to compete in an e-sports tournament."