New York City

Since 2014, New York City has hosted ESL One Series tournaments in the most popular disciplines, including Dota 2 and CS:GO. The risk from Europe’s largest league has proved justified: the Big Apple is eagerly awaiting the next tournament to buy up all tickets in minutes and book tables in all neighborhood bars.

Shanghai

Shanghai has become the main center of modern China. It hosts world-class competitions more often than other Chinese cities. In 2016, the Mercedes-Benz Arena hosted a Major esports tournament in one of the most popular — Dota 2. Then the event was accompanied by scandals, but the developers of Dota Arena apparently liked it — next year the stadium will host the world championship The International.

Katowice

The Polish city is called the birthplace of Counter-Strike, home to some of the best shooters of the early 2010s, and home to some of the most formidable teams in the world. In early 2014, one of these teams, AGAiN, was signed by virtus.pro, a large Russian organization. Two months later, the guys won the world championship. The Polish city regularly hosts world-class events. 

ESL One Katowice, Intel Challenge, and the comprehensive IEM — each esports tournament manages to draw a full stadium. In February, Katowice will host the Major, the world’s premier Counter-Strike championship, for the third time. Dota 2 is actively developing in the region; Team Kinguin and ESL One are good examples of that. 

London

CS:GO esports tournaments authors have taken a fancy to London. The main city of the United Kingdom in 2018 held the World Championship, and a little earlier — the final of the fifth season of the Championship Series league.

Manila

No one thought Asians would be willing to fall in love with computer games for real. Valve’s unexpected decision to hold the Major in Manila turned out to be a great one; thousands of Dota 2 fans bought all the tickets long before the event started. Since then, Manila has become a major hub, with great clubs, talented young people, and world-class esports events; the Manila Masters, a year later, proved just that. Dota 2 remains the main discipline in the country.

Lima

Peru’s capital is another unexpectedly bright spot on the map. For Peruvians, eSports is more of a pleasure than a way to achieve world fame or recognition. Money and travel turn out to be a nice bonus, and the players themselves are used to having fun. The surprise for the people of Lima was The Final Match tournament. 

Seattle

This is the office of the developers of computer games for the company Valve. At the same time, we should admit that the creators of Dota 2 and CS:GO managed to attract Seattle fans from all over the world.

In fact, the US city was hosting different esports events more than ten years ago — just take the World Cyber Games 2007 (something like the Cyber Olympics of that time). But the main event in the history of the city is still The International Dota 2 World Championship. Seattle has hosted it six times, becoming a true mecca for MOBA fans. During that time the city has become home to dozens of computer clubs and thousands of active gamers.

Bucharest

In the last few years, more than a dozen European and world events have taken place in Bucharest. Most of them are the tournaments of PGL, a company based in the Romanian capital. It is one of the most famous esports events operators at the moment, having held more than 40 different events for sportsmen in Bucharest and far beyond.

Interestingly, other organizations have also taken a fancy to Bucharest, with StarLadder or DreamHack events often taking place in the city, as well as various qualifications for tournaments with world championship status. Major events take place in the Romanian capital at least once a month.

This is a list of the best cities for major eSports tournaments. It can also be complemented by the Eastern European capitals (Kyiv, Minsk, and Moscow), which in recent years have also become organizers of major world tournaments.

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Today, LoL is officially the best eSports game in the world. LoL events list is constantly being updated with new events. Therefore, the level of tournaments should correspond to their status. In any megalopolis in the world, you can find an eSports arena that meets high standards. We have selected the best arenas that are suitable for LoL tournaments.

Commerzbank arena (Frankfurt)

Renting facilities from big sports clubs is quite a common practice in eSports. In addition, it is precisely in such challenges that the true level of the organizers shows itself. It is not an easy task to change the stadium to eSports tournament standards.

However, the ESL employees have been able to do this at Eintracht’s home stadium for several years in a row. Firstly, the Frankfurt Major of Dota 2 was held here with great success, and then they took up other disciplines: Hearthstone, Starcraft 2, CS:GO, and League of Legends. 

Yota Arena (Moscow)

Yota Arena is the most modern eSports arena in Russia. With 5 000 square meters, it has everything for its visitors: comfortable spectator seats, gaming zones with the most powerful gaming computers currently available, thematic stores, and a restaurant. To some extent, the stadium even looks more like a movie theater of the future than a sports venue.

It is worth noting that the owners of the arena are actively involved in the development of LoL tournaments. They regularly organize events for amateurs and beginners. In addition, the venue has successfully hosted major competitions several times.

World Cup Stadium in Seoul

One of the biggest soccer stadiums in the world, Seoul World Cup Stadium, is third on the list, but not in importance. The arena’s attendance at League of Legends tournaments clearly demonstrates the attitude of the people of this country toward computer sports. The organizers managed to make a real show out of the finals of the 2014 World Championship. With a 66-thousand-filled arena, Korea’s Samsung White simply could not lose in the finals, and they did not.

The 2014 League of Legends World Championship was the first to show the potential of this type of event. Of course, the finals of subsequent tournaments in this category in North America and Europe will not complain about attendance. But it’s worth admitting that eSports events of this magnitude can only be seen on the Asian continent.

Spodek in Katowice

The main eSports arena in Eastern Europe. The Spodek Arena is located in the Polish city of Katowice. In the 21st century, the arena was graced by the organizers of the Intel Extreme Masters Series tournaments in Counter-Strike and League of Legends. There is always a full house here at large LoL events.

eSports Arena

Another eSports arena is located in Orange County, California. Its modular system allows it to be adapted for small and large tournaments. The Arena hosts daily video game tournaments and produces unique video content. The venue rents out space and equipment for eSports.

Arlington Esports Stadium

Until recently, most eSports events were held at one-size-fits-all venues, which didn’t always meet the exact technical requirements of tournament organizers. Often, we had to create conditions for quality broadcasts almost from scratch: we had to install a lot of cameras, lighting, and additional screens. 

That’s why the city of Arlington created the biggest complex in North America for eSports events, particularly for LoL events. In addition to the main tournament area, there are rooms for players’ bootcamps, rest rooms, studios for casters, analysts, sound recording, and post production in the 100,000 square meter area. The stage is easily customizable to meet the needs of different disciplines, from mobile gaming to consoles.

Zhongxian E-Sports Stadium in Chongqing

This arena in Chongqing, China was the first stadium in China built specifically and exclusively for eSports events. The building looks imposing, covers 60,000 square meters and seats 20,000 people. But the biggest thing about the stadium was that the architects took care of the spectators who could not buy tickets for the seating inside. 

The entire facade of the building consists of glass and LED screens broadcasting eSports tournaments. The space in front of the arena is arranged so that as many fans as possible can enjoy the games of their favorite teams. At the heart of the building, where the tournaments take place, everything is also arranged according to the state of the art. Four huge screens broadcast the matches for the audience, while the athletes themselves sit on a futuristic stage, convenient for creating different visual effects.

These six arenas are clear evidence that eSports has a great future ahead of it.

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How it works, or how we got started

The first job is pruning and taking down trees. After researching the procedure for obtaining an official permit through the municipality, I advertised using all known groups and websites. Little by little, orders began to appear: two or three a month. In other words, a person wanted to take down a tired dry tree, but the municipality and the private sector billed them.

We sawed the cuttings into small pieces of wood for a small additional fee, and the customers gladly took them for themselves. The removal is always negotiated separately.

Additional income from cooperation

Work with homeowners associations and companies turned out to be very profitable. They always order from 3 to 20 trees, and it is possible to earn money within a couple of days.

Some people don’t want the whole tree, but one branch. In this case, several addresses are gathered, a truck lifter is hired, and a detour is done.

In the remaining time you can, for example, hang an air conditioner, cut down a lamp post, get the ball from the roof – the money can be earned on anything. The demand for tree trimming is year-round.

Is mowing grass profitable?

The next earning item is grass mowing. Two trimmers that easily fit into a car, a can of gasoline and a bay of fishing line are all you need to make money.

Again, going to small orders from grandmothers mow in the yard, as well as large orders, such as mowing the entire area homeowners associations or children’s parks. The main thing is not to inflate the price.

There is one secret here: trimmers are Chinese, but consumables are professional, namely Husqvarna T35 and Husqvarna T45 reels. Special oil for two-stroke engines is also “Husqvarna” or “Stihl”, because cheap oil warms up and you have to take long breaks. It is also better to choose a blade with a “Square” section and, preferably, not the cheapest one.

Lawn mowers for mowing the lawn were taken for rent. There is much less demand for them.

Lawn planting and installation of an auto irrigation system

There are almost no people in the city who are ready to do this work, and to invite specialists is not at all affordable to local residents. The work includes digging, adding sand, fertilizer (and materials are a separate cost), leveling the layer of soil, seeding the lawn (at the choice of the customer), and watering. The main thing is not to skimp on lawn seeds. At this time, there are no grass planting projects that do not grow or do not make money.

Another prerequisite is to pay attention to soil composition and discourage the customer where planting doesn’t make sense.

The accompanying service of combing out last year’s lawns also brings a small income, but it is very labor-intensive: for 5 hours on average it turns out qualitatively combed 4-5 acres.

Arrangement of automatic irrigation

At the moment, I have experience in two small projects. Due to the fact that in my work I have had to create irrigation systems in parks and traffic circles, I have gained a lot of experience. On this, as it turned out, you can make good money. The main thing is to make a pressure calculation. Once we chose a smaller pipe, 25 mm, instead of 32 mm. As a result, we bought the right one, and re-pipe, as not enough of the flow capacity.

Model shrub shearing

Here in the business are gasoline scissors, we took them from work (with permission). Clientele – music schools, private parks, well, the rich residents. The price depends directly on the amount of work. In the notebook about 15 addresses, 3 times during the season we get a call that makes us richer.

The most interesting is the project of cutting large trees (ash trees) under the ball.

The business is complicated, so it’s expensive. Sometimes even a Karagach (aka elm) tree can make a real sweetheart.

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However, in order to cover the services of a wider range, will have to buy a different technique: lawn mowers, power tiller or mini-tractor with various attachments and so on. Of course, their purchase will cost a considerable amount of money – about 10 000 – 30 000 £. But it is through mechanized labor, landscaping the city can bring 20-60 thousand pounds a month.

Improvement and landscaping of the city.

However, do not forget about the cost of advertising, rental space, payroll workers, so that the amount of seed capital will be about 24,000 – 45,000 pounds.

Needless to say, that the landscaping and gardening of the city a promising business that will pay off about a year. With technology will be able to perform a large number of orders. After all, only the landscaping of the city, a service that will provide a lot of regular customers.

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Not surprisingly, today is actively developing a line of business to provide services to landscaping and landscape design. After all, to improve the territory, you need knowledge and experience, and even a lot of effort goes into maintaining a presentable appearance of the territory. So those wishing to have an area of presentable appearance are increasingly turning to professionals in the field of landscape design.

Landscaping agencies – a fairly new trend in business environment. Stable demand, high profitability and minimum start-up capital makes a business project attractive, especially for start-up entrepreneurs.

Landscaping as a decorative element

Under landscaping understand the work associated with planting of plants and aimed at improving the territory and the environment.

There are several methods of landscaping:

• Arrays. Continuous plantings of trees and shrubs, which occupy large areas. It can be a single plant or a combination of several species.
• Group plantings. Used when creating transitions from large arrays to open areas. Also can be single-species and mixed.
• Row alley plantings. These are plantings along roads and boulevards.
• Single plantings.
• Hedges. Created usually from a single species of shrubs or climbing plants.

Vertical gardening

Vertical gardening is a completely new trend used in both interior design and landscape design. It is based on the use of climbing, climbing and ampelous plants, as well as on auxiliary constructions. Such landscaping allows you to give a wall or even an entire house an unusual, fresh and original look.

Landscaping for commercial buildings

It is used on internal and external surfaces of residential or office premises, fences, decorative constructions. Wall with vertical greenery can be part of a landscape composition or a separate decoration. To date, vertical gardening in our country has not yet become popular, so by offering such a service, you stand out from the competition.

Landscaping, as a rule, is a large order and requires the performer to be responsible and have the capacity to implement large-scale work. You will often have to hire additional workers. And you’ll also definitely need the ability to find a large supplier quickly.

Customers

As a rule, many people associate design with the decoration of the areas of private houses. And although it is better to start with such projects, this sphere is not limited to them. The services of landscapers and designers are often used by large firms and city organizations. In every city there are parks, squares, and areas that require your attention. The advantage of such projects is that landscaped areas, as a rule, require periodic professional care. However, as mentioned above, you should start with small private orders. After all, large organizations use the services of firms that have a good portfolio.

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First of all, you need gardening equipment:

• pruners,
• garden shears,
• electric saw, etc.

Naturally, no site can be imagined without a well-groomed lawn, so a lawnmower is one of the most important expenditure items. You also need small tools for mounting structures – pliers, screwdrivers, chisels. And, most obviously, you can’t do without the classic arsenal of a gardener: shovels, rakes, etc.

Another important point – the uniform for the work. This should include work overalls, aprons, shoes.

No matter how much equipment you have not bought for your firm, as you develop, your arsenal will expand. But to start your firm enough and the simplest things.
Necessary components for the provision of services for landscape design

Modern landscape design is not only grass, bushes and trees. It often uses stones, sculptures, irrigation systems, fountains and topiaries. You need to be able to quickly and profitably buy something of these. Therefore, it is worth taking care in advance to establish business relationships. You can conclude contracts with major stores and construction hypermarkets, as well as with farms that grow different plants. Think about where you can get decorative or natural stone, there are probably several companies in your city that deal with this kind of thing. You will also probably need forged elements: benches, fences, gazebos. Perhaps you should visit specialized exhibitions to know the possibilities of this area.

Proper advertising

Advertising – the engine of your business. At the stage of formation of the firm you need to build up a customer base. Use leaflets, banners, advertising on local TV, participate in festivals, etc. A good advertisement would be your own website. On it, customers will be able to see your portfolio and prices. Do not forget about discounts and promotions. They can provide you with an influx of customers and business development.
Software

You can and should use modern technology to create and present projects to potential customers. Today there are many computer programs that can facilitate the life of the landscape designer and create a bright site layout, which is not a shame to present to the client.

All of these programs do an excellent job with their functions. But they differ in capacity and size. For example, Sierra Home&Land Design3D consists of three disks, and gives the user maximum possibilities, and here you can create a very credible model, because the program has in stock a lot of elements (plants and architectural elements). But Expert Landscape Design 3D is very simple and easy to use and has no big system requirements, it is about 5MB.

As mentioned earlier, a relatively small initial capital generates up to 500 new firms in one city each year in this area, which provides a high level of competition. Even if you have a specialized education and experience in this area, to perform all at once you can not get. You can only deal with organizational issues, and to perform the work you will have to hire staff.
Personnel

A small agency will need staff such as:

• landscape designer,
• project designer,
• agronomist,
• surveyor,
• land surveyor,
• accountant (may work on outsourcing),
• lawyer, managers (guest workers, outsourcing)
• dendrologist and handymen

If you cooperate with construction firms and firms selling building materials, then sometimes you can get into an unpleasant situation: when they delay delivery of the necessary materials, and construction companies do not perform the agreed work plan in time. And the responsibility for this will have to your agency.

In general, proper management and timely resolution of organizational issues will bring you a huge income from the creation of the business.

This type of business has a good profitability and a quick payback. The payback period of the landscaping agency is 4-6 months, with a competent start-up and operation of the business.

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City authorities can offer a developer additional territories for landscaping, for example, a park next to a new business center or residential complex. Such costs become an investment in the future for the city and for the developer, since they affect the company’s reputation.

For new infill developments in the city and landlords of existing buildings, the presence of adjacent street improvements affects the demand for space. According to a study by the Center for Urban Economics, the average vacancy rate dropped from 14% to 6% on landscaped streets and from 10% to 8% on undeveloped streets over the year.

Street improvements are critical for all types of businesses whose profits depend on foot traffic. This street retail, services, catering, that is, all small and medium-sized businesses focused on direct contact with the client. The volume of pedestrian traffic, the audience is the first thing that interests such a tenant when he chooses a place in the city. On well-appointed streets, the number of banks and communication centers has decreased by 18% – these areas of services are increasingly leaving for online commerce. In their place came grocery stores (+26%), beauty salons (+23%), pharmacies (+16%), clothing stores (+10%) and catering (+9%).

When the profitability of a business is related to the number of people walking down the street, the question arises of how to increase that number and expand the audience. The intensity of the pedestrian flow is influenced by the ease of movement on the street and the presence of points of attraction – centers of business and cultural activity, municipal institutions, tourist and sports facilities, public spaces, etc. The first problem is solved by the improvement: a study of Moscow streets in a year after the improvement showed an increase in pedestrian flow by an average of 14%, and on weekends the flow increased by 56%. The emergence of new points of attraction can initiate business, and it does not necessarily require large investments. So a barbershop built a wooden patio to play table tennis instead of a parking lot, and now the street has a local recreational area that appeals to locals and potential customers.

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During the study, some entrepreneurs reported an increase in profits on weekends (+20%), on average 20% increased the number of tourists among visitors.

Western studies record a steady increase in profits 2-3 years after the improvement. The most pedestrian-dependent areas of business feel the positive effects of beautification the fastest. For example, in 17 California cities, the Main Street California program lasted from 1985 to 2001, resulting in a 105 percent increase in retail sales, a 167 percent increase in market value of commercial real estate, and a 76 percent decrease in vacant commercial space. After the 2008 redevelopment of Vanderbilt Avenue in New York City, retail, restaurant and bar sales increased 39% in the first year and doubled two more years later.

In addition to increasing profits, beautification for businesses becomes a contribution to social capital. For large enterprises and organizations there are programs of corporate social responsibility, aimed at improving the quality of the urban environment, including in single-industry towns. For example, a metallurgical holding supports the festival of urban environment and culture, and manufacturers of building materials help restore the historic urban environment at the festival. A businessman used his own funds to make an experimental lawn in the city, protecting the roadway from pollution, because he was “tired of the dirt in the city. It turns out that the entrepreneur, like the citizen, is the ultimate “consumer” of beautification, but has more opportunities to change the urban environment.

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