Sports arena mainstay Populous is venturing into new territory after its announcement of a new five-part NFT collection in partnership with their hometown esports franchise aptly named the Kansas City Pioneers.

According to the firm, the collection is meant to showcase a prototype future home for fans of the increasingly popular potential future Olympic competition.

The new project represents the firm’s third official foray into esports following their 100,000 square foot Esports Stadium Arlington and the planned $500 million Toronto hotel and entertainment complex being developed in collaboration with OverActive Media. 

Pioneers co-founder Mark Josey says it will “[provide] access to authentic, personalized experiences, and build connections to a community here and beyond.” The new digital arena can be accessed via the metaverse platform OpenSea and plays host to an unnamed character’s journey through the facility, including a behind-the-scenes tour of the Pioneers’ training area. 

Populous’ Senior Principal, and Esports Director for the Americas, Brian Mirakian, says the collection “moves beyond the boundaries of physical space and experiments with the possibilities of how new digital mediums unlock access to powerful shared social experiences capable of building communities in a virtual world,” adding his view that The Arena “is just a glimpse into the future innovation to come.”

Tokens will be released on a rolling basis beginning with the first three made available on Wednesday. The remaining two will follow in the coming weeks. More information can be found here.