Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Entrepreneur Dee Jones says Epic Games will partner on local esports programs in 2025
Summary
Dee Jones told the commission he has built a youth esports league, expects Epic Games involvement and state funding for an esports lab at the juvenile services center, and said the initiative could create paid opportunities for young people through name-image-likeness (NIL) and content monetization.
Dee Jones, who identified himself as an entrepreneur and developer of a youth ‘esports’ program in Kent County, used the commission’s public-comment period to outline plans to expand his program and to solicit awareness from the city.
Jones said he has developed a youth justice-influence esports league and secured donated prizes from a local G League team. He described recent outreach from an educator in North Carolina and efforts to connect that educator with Epic Games; Jones said he expects Epic Games — which he described as a multibillion-dollar company — to partner on programming in 2025. “We’re gonna be partnering with Epic Games in 2025,” Jones said.
Jones also said he aims to create a Cash Cow event and an esports lab located at the base of the juvenile services center and that he is pursuing state funding and NIL (name, image and likeness) opportunities so participants can earn money by creating content and streaming. He said those efforts are intended to provide pathways out of poverty by building skills and paid opportunities.
Jones framed the pitch as a local workforce and youth-development opportunity but did not request specific city funding or a formal city action during the meeting. No staff presentation or formal referral to staff was recorded on the record during the meeting’s public-comment period.
