Kroenke Sports & Entertainment has acquired a spot in the upcoming franchised Call of Duty league, securing a Los Angeles franchise.
This isn’t the first Los Angeles franchise spot in the league to be sold by Activision Blizzard however, with Immortals Gaming Club already owning a spot in the exact same city.
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment is the parent company of Overwatch League’s Los Angeles Gladiators, NBA’s Denver Nuggets, NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, football clubs Arsenal F.C. and Colorado Rapids, and Lacrosse side Colorado Rapids.
Also announced on August 20th is that Misfits Gaming, owner of Overwatch League franchise Florida Mayhem, has acquired a spot in the Call of Duty league too. It has secured the Florida franchise in the competition ahead of the 2020 launch.
There’s now a total of nine confirmed franchises for the league, including Atlanta Esports Ventures’ Atlanta, Envy Gaming’sDallas, Sterling.VC’s New York, c0ntact Gaming’s Paris, OverActive Media’s Toronto, WISE Ventures’ Minnesota, and Immortals Gaming Club’s Los Angeles.
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment recently attempted to enter Riot Games’ LCS by purchasing the slot currently owned by Echo Fox. The deal ultimately fell through after Sentinels sued the company and now the developer is in pursuit of a new owner for the slot.
Esports Insider says: With this acquisition and its recent attempt to enter the LCS, it’s rather clear that Kroenke Sports & Entertainment is all in on esports franchising. Both owners of the LA franchises in the Overwatch League have secured their Call of Duty counterparts now, continuing the trend of OWL owners expanding into the popular FPS title.
