SideQuests esports arena headed to downtown Orlando
One night in June, Darrell Harbin was walking downtown on Orange Avenue and happened to see Managing Partner John SanFelippo of The Block on the sidewalk in front of his venue 64 North near the corner of East Washington Street and North Orange Avenue.
The sports marketing executive — well-known locally for his time as COO of the Orlando Predators and years as senior partnership development manager with the Orlando Magic — was thinking of bringing an esports arena to downtown, much like his Oviedo venue HuviGG.
“I was headed over to Church Street when I saw him there. I already had it on my mind that I wanted to talk to him, so I stopped to chat and showed him a video of what we were doing in Oviedo,” said Harbin.
Harbin and SanFelippo, his partner George Maltezos and property owner Frank Casscells quickly agreed that a new esports arena inside The Block was in the cards. SideQuests, as it will be called, will sprawl through 64 North, The Corner and other soon-to-be-transformed interior spaces that upon approval from the city will be remodeled for new purposes. The arena will open in 2024.
