Esports Trade Association Announces EsportsNext Conference in Chicago: A national B2B conference for esports business professionals, EsportsNext 2020, will take place at The City Hall from April 6 through 7.

Chicago, IL-- The Esports Trade Association (ESTA) today announced the agenda for the inaugural EsportsNext conference in Chicago on April 6-7. EsportsNext will be the premier networking and educational event for professionals who serve clients in the esports industry.

As the esports industry's premier B2B conference, the two-day event will feature presentations from top voices in the esports industry about where current business opportunities exist and what the future holds.

"While esports may have once stood for a subset of sports culture, it has grown into a full industry in its own right," said John Davidson, ESTA President and Director of Business Development, Esports at Production Resource Group. "It is important that we bring together the growing number of business service providers from across the esports ecosystem to network, share best practices and challenges so that we can help foster growth and build a sense of community."

During the first night, there will be a networking event along with a special tournament featuring top collegiate teams from the Chicago area playing "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" for the Nintendo Switch.

Featured sessions include:

Building Platforms from the Ground-Up for Esports
Moderator:
Matt Feodoroff, Sr. Director of Global Demand & Partnerships, Microsoft

Panelists:
Ed Brooks, Co-Founder/CEO, ESPAT

Localization of Esports
Moderator:
Donny Neufuss, Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships, Brightline Interactive

Panelists:
Asante Bradford, Project Manager, Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment
Kim Meltzer, CEO, Destination Esports
Mathew Ratner, Associate Director, Sports Tourism at Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau

Sponsorship Valuation Modeling
Moderator:
Roger Payne, Director, Research Analytics, The Marketing Arm (TMA)

Panelists:
Edward Gold, Advertising Director, State Farm
Greg Skasko, CEO, Abacus3

Sponsor Relationships
Moderator:
John Davidson, Director of Business Development, Esports, Production Resource Group (PRG)

Panelists:
Tom Ferrara, Director of Esports Marketing & Partnerships, Wisdom Gaming Group
Daniel Herz, Former Chief Revenue Officer & Vice President at Complexity Gaming

A complete listing of sessions and speakers can be found at www.esportsta.org/EsportsNext.

"At a time when so much business and related relationships are conducted online, face-to-face events have never been more important, especially for a budding industry that has seen such unprecedented growth," said Donny Neufuss, EsportsNext Conference Chairman and Senior Vice President, Corporate Partnerships at Brightline Interactive. "We've brought together some of the industry's most influential business thought leaders with the goal of educating and equipping attendees with actionable insights that they can leave the conference with and implement when they return back to the office. It's essential to think of the esports opportunity in this way -- one inclusive of gaming, media, pop culture, and commerce -- as it shines a light on opportunities beyond gaming events alone."

Chicago's growing importance as a technology and innovation hub made the city a natural choice to host the inaugural conference. In addition to further educating the industry and the public at large about the esports industry and its potential, the event aims to bring the esports industry closer together and help them toward a common goal and mission.

Esports Trade Association
541 N Fairbanks Court Suite 2200, Chicago Il 60611
info@esportsta.org
Megan Van Petten

The Esports Trade Association (ESTA) promotes, protects, and advances the broader interests of the esports community. The organization accomplishes this through providing forward-thinking professional development programs, networking opportunities, relevant industry research, and valuable tools and resources to the membership. ESTA focuses on increasing the economic value of the esports industry by growing the number of participants, sponsors, products, and services, conducting primary and secondary industry research, and executing industry events.
Learn more about the ESTA and its mission statement at www.esportsta.org.

This release was published on openPR.