Pale Fox Esports’ headquarters is based in The Exchange right in the heart of Birmingham and opposite the main city library in Centenary Square. The Graham Turner suite is the team’s official ‘home base’ within the building, which is owned by the University of Birmingham and made available to the team via the Elevate program.
During the week, Pale Fox Esports staff call the office home as they work to build and grow the organisation, but at the weekend the space is opened up to the public. People from across the West Midlands come in to play mobile and traditional esports titles, trading card games, and RPGs like D&D too.
In the run-up to major tournaments and events, Pale Fox Esports teams can come together to boot camp at headquarters. The building has plenty to explore to get a break from games – an art gallery space, a beautiful cafe, and the original bank vaults in the basement!
The Exchange was once the municipal bank for the city of Birmingham and was built in the early 1930s and opened by then-Prince George. Lord Neville Chamberlain – who went on to become Prime Minister of the UK – created the bank as a place for workers from the city to save their money. During the early 2000s, the building fell out of use but was recently taken over by the University of Birmingham.
Since then, a multi-million-pound regeneration project has been completed and the building has re-opened. As well as Pale Fox Esports being housed in the Graham Turner suite, the original bank vaults have been turned into a gallery space, there’s a bustling cafe, and also classrooms that host different events and courses.
The building is surrounded by some of the city’s most well-known landmarks. On one side of the building is Broad Street – the city’s centre of nightlife with pubs, clubs, and bars stretching on for over 1,000 meters. On the opposite side of the road is the city library, symphony hall, and the Sealife Centre, while just a five-minute walk away is the Bull Ring.
The city of Birmingham and the wider region have always had a strong link to the world of games and esports! The first Commonwealth Esports Championships were held in the city as part of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and players from across the world came together to compete.
Birmingham City University and the University of Warwick both host major esports programs while BCU also hosts a thriving games development course. Meanwhile, the University of Birmingham hosts an esports society, which is the biggest society across the whole university. There are also multiple colleges in the region that run the BTEC Esports course which was designed and launched by British Esports.
Major games studios also call the city of Birmingham and the wider region home. Codemasters, most famous for their work on the F1 racing games, Kwalee Gmaes, and Sumo Digital are among some of the best-known. The city also hosts Insomnia each year which is one of the gaming community’s flagship events!