In premarket trading Friday, shares of Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co. HOFV, +3.66 percent jumped 7.1 percent after the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s owner announced a deal with esports and online gambling startup Esports Entertainment Group Inc. GMBL, +2.87 percent.
Esports stocks fell 1.2 percent before the market opened. Esports will become the official esports supplier in the Hall of Fame Village as part of the deal, and will run a Helix eSports entertainment center that will open in mid-2022. “Having an EEG-powered esports complex on campus adds another compelling opportunity for gaming enthusiasts and guests to engage in virtual environments, as well as giving us the ability to draw in fans from all over the world – both in person and virtually – providing us with strategic growth opportunities within our company’s gaming vertical,” said Hall of Fame Resorts. Through Thursday, Hall of Fame Resort’s stock had up 176.4 percent year to date, while Esports shares had risen 63.9 percent and the S&P 500 SPX, -0.86 percent had risen 15.0 percent./n
