It’s official. One of the country’s top eSports teams has signed a deal with a Charlotte venture capital firm.
Team EnVyUs and SierraMaya360 finalized their agreement Tuesday. Specific terms were not disclosed, other than that it’s a seven-figure deal.
“We are very excited about this investment in Team EnVyUs, with hundreds of hours researching the space and beating out pro sports owners and other VCs in a very high profile deal,” said SierraMaya360 managing partner Amish Shah. “It’s a North Carolina success story and a Charlotte success story.”
He said the firm believes eSports will be a household name in a few years and surpass the NHL as the No. 4 sport in the U.S. in the near future. “We feel that this is the early days, like being in MLB in the 70’s or NFL in the 60’s or NBA in the 80’s,” he said.
Team owner Mike “Hastr0” Rufail has huge plans for Charlotte.
He wants to build a training facility and public entertainment center. Today a family goes out to the ballpark, one day they’ll go watch Team EnVyUs.
The investment is going to help with sales, marketing, sponsorships and otherwise accelerating a big brand in a sport that’s going mainstream.
[Agenda story: Top eSports squad Team EnVyUs is close to a deal to move to Charlotte]
Shah said that his firm is also looking to bring in pro sports owners and celebrities into the deal.
Location is still being determined.
So be on the lookout for more announcements. Meanwhile, the team will be competing on TBS starting July 1 in the Turner ELeague tournament vying for $1.5 million in prizes.
Photo credit: Turner Sports ELeague
