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BATON ROUGE – Governor Bobby Jindal and video game company Electronic Arts (EA) Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced a partnership between EA and Louisiana State University (LSU) that will lead to the creation of a new global quality assurance center in Baton Rouge. The facility will be the first of its kind in the United States and will serve primarily as a test center for EA Sports’ software titles, creating 20 new full time jobs in Baton Rouge and more than 200 additional part-time jobs for students at LSU, Southern University and Baton Rouge Community College.
Joining Governor Jindal in making the announcement were EA’s Senior Vice President for Central Development Services Sharon Knight, LSU Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development Dr. Brooks Keel, Baton Rouge Mayor Melvin L. “Kip” Holden, Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development (LED) Stephen Moret, and President and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) Adam Knapp.
Governor Jindal said, “This announcement of EA putting the first-of-its-kind in the U.S. video game testing center right here in Baton Rouge is a terrific win for the city and the future of our state. We know our economic development initiatives have to be aggressive, but they must also be innovative, and EA has both of these important attributes. This testing center will create 20 full time jobs, and more than 200 part-time jobs for LSU students and others who will get paid to test video games. I know this will be a dream job for some kids, but it is also a key part of strengthening our state’s economic development so we become the best place in the world to do business and all of our children can stay right here at home to pursue their dreams.” Jindal added, “This job win is a critical step in creating a digital media economy that will generate even more high-paying high tech jobs and help us compete for even more jobs within EA in the future.”
Jindal worked to personally cultivate a relationship with EA since taking office, and his state budget for FY 2009 includes funding for two new positions focused specifically on cultivating the digital media industry in Louisiana, to work with companies like EA.
The quality assurance (QA) center, created through the EA/LSU partnership, will be a testing facility for new software designed by EA’s development studios. The center will ramp up to approximately 20 full time employees as well as more than 200 part time testers made up predominately of LSU students. Payroll for the operation is expected to increase to approximately $5.7 million per year within two years.
“We are proud that EA will be part of this initiative that will assist in the development of the digital media industry in Louisiana,” said Sharon Knight, Senior Vice President of Central Development Services at Electronic Arts. “We feel EA SPORTS is a great fit with LSU as there is a deep-rooted heritage in sports at the university. This partnership will open future opportunities for the state of Louisiana, LSU, and EA.”
Individuals involved with forming the partnership cited multiple reasons why the Baton Rouge area was selected for the project. The list included an abundance of potential technology-minded employees, a deeply-rooted sports culture highly valuable for evaluating sports-themed software, digital media tax credits and a digital media curriculum being vigorously cultivated at LSU through a new program called AVATAR (Arts, Visualization Advanced Technologies and Research). Governor Jindal included $1 million in the FY 2009 budget to expand the AVATAR program.
AVATAR will establish collaboration among various disciplines to produce research and projects related to digital media. As part of this joint venture, EA will assist in the development of the digital media industry in Louisiana, and will help to encourage technology research and development in the field, by assisting in the development of curricula, workforce programs and digital media cultivation efforts.
“LSU is committed to developing a world-class, comprehensive program aimed at advancing the education, research and workforce needs of the digital media industry,” said Dr. Brooks Keel, LSU’s Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development. “Our AVATAR (Arts, Visualization, Advanced Technologies and Research) Initiative will recruit leaders from around the world to LSU to perform cutting edge research in high performance computing, video game development, interactive systems, visual effects and digital arts, and our developing Digital Media Curriculum will offer education and training for students interested in these areas. We are extremely excited about collaborating with EA, which will not only provide outstanding job opportunities for our digital media students, but will greatly enhance our ability to attract global leaders in digital media including scientists, artists, and engineers to LSU. Together, EA and LSU will ensure that Baton Rouge, and indeed the entire state of Louisiana, will become a global leader in the field of digital media and entertainment development.”
“With this announcement today, Baton Rouge has taken a giant leap forward in becoming a center for the digital media industry,” said Mayor-President Melvin L. “Kip” Holden. “EA brings exactly the kind of jobs we have been working to land – careers for the future that focus on technology, digital arts and video game development. We welcome this exciting company to Baton Rouge.”
Moret added, “With more than $10 billion per year in U.S. sales and an expected growth rate of nearly ten percent per year for the foreseeable future, the video-game development industry is likely to be one of the most exciting growth sectors for many years to come. This new partnership with EA represents a major boost in our effort to become one of the leading states in the country in this exciting growth industry. We plan to pursue other EA opportunities in the development arena, as well as use this partnership in our efforts to recruit other leading video-game development companies to Louisiana.”
Initial contact with EA was made through the Baton Rouge Area Digital Industries Consortium (BRADIC), a group established last year to cultivate the development of a digital media industry in the Capital Region. Its founding members include BRAC, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, the City of Baton Rouge / Parish of East Baton Rouge and LSU.
“This is a momentous day for the Baton Rouge area and our emerging digital media sector. The decision by Electronic Arts to locate their North American quality assurance facility here is a major step in the realization of our goal of becoming the Creative Capital of the South,” said Knapp. “We have built a broad community consortium focused on developing this industry, and all of our partners are committed to making Electronic Arts’ operations, as well as all of our current Baton Rouge-based digital media companies, a long-term success.”
The QA facility will initially be located at LSU’s South Campus as part of the Louisiana Business and Technology Center. The partnership will include the use of Louisiana’s Digital Media Tax Credit Program, as well as assistance from LED and EBR City-Parish for facility improvements.
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