Bob Hunter is no stranger to entertainment venues, having had a hand in the growth of B.C. Place Stadium, Rogers Centre, Scotiabank Arena, BMO Field and the Raptors’ practice facility.

Now senior vice-president of OverActive Media, the former Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment executive is overseeing plans for a new 7,200-seat performance venue — to house esports and other entertainment events — and hotel at Exhibition Place on the Toronto lakefront.

“First and probably foremost, it’s going to be a very sizable and very cool concert venue,” Hunter said. “We’re working with the promoters to ensure that we cover off all of their needs and hopefully the needs of the artist. And then the second major tenant will be our own teams.”

The venue will host OverActive’s Call of Duty and Overwatch League pro franchises with esports events up to 40 nights a year.

That means state-of-the art video to showcase the gaming action. But Hunter says the venue will host everything from music and awards shows to theatre and corporate events.

“Anybody who performs, I think, will find the space desirable,” he said. “We’ve tried to create intimacy. We’ve tried to create flexibility.”

The pandemic has played its part, with changes in design in mechanical and electrical systems that will help provide a “cleaner environment.”

The Exhibition Place project secured lease terms approval from Toronto City Council in December. In October, it got the green light from the Exhibition Place board of governors.

Hunter and his team are now preparing their site plan application, which includes 10-15 studies covering everything from environment and traffic to archeology, with the hope it is ready in early March for city planners. He expects two to three months of back-and-forth on the plan ahead of hopefully getting the go-ahead by Labour Day.

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