GOVERNMENT
For city employees, it’s a clash of clans between those who think the Maricopa Esports Lounge was a total loss and those who think the mislaid dollars were a justified expense.
J
AN. 12, 2023, IS THE DAY THE CITY of Maricopa’s Esports program lost its last life after three years in operation.
The plug was pulled on Maricopa Esports Lounge at Copper Sky Recreation Complex. In video gamer parlance, esports got nerfed. The gamer lounge was a recreational outlet for children who were either not athletic or lived their lives with a disability, like wheelchair bound or autistic, according to its creators. It was a place they could get off the couch at home and get on a different couch to mingle with other gamers. But last year, then-City Manager Ricky Horst delivered an executive order to city staff saying the program was a money loser. He ordered it be immediately “shut down and dismantled.” Pwned Horst’s staff memo, obtained by InMaricopa through a public records request, stated: “The program has carried a sustained loss since 2020 equaling over $150,000 in excess of revenues.” Equipment inside the lounge room, an ex- storage and office space, was sold for pennies on the dollar. “We would like to thank you for supporting this program as long as you have,” then-Esports Director Matthew Reiter stated Jan. 31, 2023, in
The city government tried to get into gaming. It failed
BY JEFF CHEW
InMaricopa asked the city if the $150,000 loss accounted for staff time, how many worked in the lounge, why it was shut down, what maintenance costs were associated with the lounge and how the city became interested in esports in the first place, among other pointed questions. Assistant City Manager Jennifer Brown responded: “The executive order to end the esports program was an operational decision made more than a year ago that took into account the totality of the program. We are constantly analyzing programs and processes to ensure we are offering the best and most efficient services to our residents.” Boss level Maricopa Esports’ demise was not a total loss, supporters and sponsors behind it said. Today, similar programs are active at Maricopa Unified School District’s two high schools and at Central Arizona College in Maricopa. The city’s ex-community services director who oversaw the creation and ramp-up of Maricopa Esports Lounge takes ownership of the program’s relatively short lifespan. “I think it was successful,” said Nathan Ullyot, now parks and recreation director for Reno, Nev. “If anything, I think it was that I didn’t share the benefits of it. I should have done a better job of showing its benefits to city leaders.” The city ‘s top administrators didn’t know anything beyond knowing the gaming lounge’s financial deficit, Ullyot said.
the city-supported Facebook page’s final post. “We are currently going to suspend all esports activity with the Maricopa Esports program until further notice.” “The executive order to end the esports program was an operational decision made more than a year ago that took into account the totality of the program.” JENNIFER BROWN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
InMaricopa.com | May 2024
May 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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