--- title: How to Analyze a City Before Opening a Franchise description: "How to choose a city to open a franchise: discover what to analyze beyond population, from catchment area and accessibility to the right location." image: https://blog.eva.gg/hubfs/arena-eva-1.png --- [![logo-1](https://blog.eva.gg/hubfs/logo-1.svg "logo-1")](https://blog.eva.gg/en) [![logo](https://blog.eva.gg/hubfs/logo.svg "logo")](https://blog.eva.gg/en) - [NEWS](https://blog.eva.gg/en/) - [PATCH NOTES](https://blog.eva.gg/en/tag/patch-notes) - [COMPETITION](https://blog.eva.gg/en/tag/competition) - [VR](https://blog.eva.gg/en/tag/vr) - [ABOUT US](https://blog.eva.gg/en/about-us) en es [Book now](https://www.eva.gg/locations) Search - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ## [![logo-2](https://blog.eva.gg/hubfs/logo-2.svg "logo-2")](https://blog.eva.gg/en) [✕](https://blog.eva.gg/en/how-to-analyze-a-city-before-opening-a-franchise#atbs-offcanvas-primary) - [NEWS](https://blog.eva.gg/en/) - [PATCH NOTES](https://blog.eva.gg/en/tag/patch-notes) - [COMPETITION](https://blog.eva.gg/en/tag/competition) - [VR](https://blog.eva.gg/en/tag/vr) - [ABOUT US](https://blog.eva.gg/en/about-us) en es [Franchise](https://blog.eva.gg/en/tag/franchise) # How to Analyze a City Before Opening a Franchise 09/24/2026 Partager - -   # **Population Isn’t Everything**   When analyzing where to open a franchise or an entertainment business, one of the first factors usually considered is population size. It makes sense: a larger population means a larger potential market. However, looking only at how many people live within a city’s administrative boundaries can provide an incomplete picture of its true commercial potential.   A mid-sized city may be well connected to several surrounding municipalities and attract thousands of people every day for work, education, shopping, or leisure. Another city with a larger population may have different mobility patterns, greater geographic dispersion, or a much more competitive entertainment market.   That is why, at EVA, analyzing a new city means understanding not only how many people live there, but **what market actually exists around a potential arena**.   ## **The Catchment Area Can Be More Important Than the City’s Population**   For a destination entertainment business, the most relevant question is not always “How many people live in this city?” but rather **“How many people can easily get here?”**   This is known as the catchment area: the potential population located within a reasonable travel distance of the business.   At EVA, we use a minimum criterion of **300,000 inhabitants within a 30-minute drive** when evaluating the potential of an area for an arena. This allows us to analyze the market beyond municipal boundaries and include nearby cities, residential areas, and other population centers connected to the location.   A city with 150,000 inhabitants, for example, does not necessarily represent a market of only 150,000 people. Its catchment area may be considerably larger. For a prospective franchisee, understanding this difference is one of the first steps toward conducting an effective market analysis.   ## **Accessibility Also Determines a Location’s Potential**   Having a large population nearby means little if reaching the business is difficult.   Road connections, public transportation, parking availability, and actual travel times all help determine how far a location’s catchment area can extend.   This is particularly important for entertainment businesses like EVA, where visits can be planned in advance and often take place in groups. A location does not have to depend exclusively on foot traffic: it needs to be accessible enough for friends, teams, families, or other groups to reach it easily.   That is why, when looking for a location for an EVA franchise, market analysis and site analysis need to go hand in hand.   ## **What Entertainment Options Already Exist in the City?**   Analyzing a city also means understanding what its residents do when they are looking for entertainment.   Cinemas, bowling alleys, escape rooms, leisure centers, karting, gaming, and other experiences all compete for a share of consumers’ free time. However, the existence of other entertainment options does not necessarily mean that the market is saturated. It can also demonstrate that there is established demand for leisure experiences.   The question, therefore, should not be limited to how many competitors exist. It is important to analyze **what they offer, which audiences they attract, and what space may exist for a differentiated proposition**.   For a virtual reality franchise like EVA, this analysis helps determine where a free-roam VR and physical esports experience can position itself within a city’s entertainment ecosystem.   ## **Universities, Businesses, and Tourism Are Also Part of the Market**   The resident population represents only part of the people of a city.   A strong university presence can add thousands of students to the potential market. A significant business community can create opportunities related to corporate events and team building. Tourism can temporarily increase the available population, while certain cities act as shopping or entertainment hubs for much smaller surrounding municipalities.   These factors help explain why two cities with similar populations can offer very different commercial opportunities.   For EVA, the diversity of potential audiences is particularly important. An arena does not depend on a single customer profile: it can welcome players, groups of friends, families, companies, and participants in competitions and events.   Analyzing the composition of demand provides a clearer understanding of the opportunities each market may offer.   ## **A Strong Market Also Needs the Right Venue**   Even a city with an attractive market needs suitable spaces capable of accommodating the concept.   At EVA, **each arena requires a mandatory 500 m² column-free playing area**. The space required for reception, the chill area, bar, and other operational areas is additional to those 500 m².   That is why analyzing a city also involves studying its real estate availability: the types of premises available, accessibility, location, costs, and the possibility of finding spaces compatible with the project’s technical and operational requirements.   A strong market provides the foundation for the project, while identifying the right property is an important part of bringing the EVA concept to life. Commercial potential and real estate suitability are therefore assessed together, and **franchisees do not need to have an approved venue in place when signing the franchise agreement**.   ## **Analyzing a City Means Connecting the Data**   There is no single number that can determine whether a city is suitable for opening a franchise.   Population is a starting point, but it becomes truly meaningful when analyzed alongside the catchment area, travel times, accessibility, existing entertainment options, the local business community, university population, tourism, and real estate availability.   This analysis allows us to move from an overly simple question — “Does my city have enough inhabitants?” to a much more useful one: **“Is there a market here that is large enough, accessible enough, and suitable for developing this business?”**   ## **Could Your City Be Ready for an EVA Arena?**   EVA’s expansion is not simply about identifying the largest cities. The objective is to find markets capable of supporting a community, an entertainment offering, and a long-term business project.   EVA analyzes each territory before approving a new location and supports prospective franchisees in evaluating the area and identifying the type of space required for the concept.   If you are considering **opening an EVA franchise in your city**, you can present your project to the expansion team and discover whether your market meets the conditions to become a new EVA location.     [Download Dossier](https://smartandgeek-2405525.hs-sites.com/en?utm_source=seo-blog&utm_id=organic-content&hsLang=en)   [EVA Team](https://blog.eva.gg/en/author/team-eva) # LIVE THE EVA EXPERIENCE Enter the most memorable immersive FPS and live a unique VR esport experience [Book now](https://eva.gg/en-FR/locations) - [EVA.gg](https://eva.gg/en-us) - [EVA Shop](https://competitive.eva.gg/en/) - [EVA Competitive](https://competitive.eva.gg/en_US/) - [EVA Franchise](https://franchise.eva.gg/en/) - [About us](https://blog.eva.gg/en/about-us) - [Contact us](https://www.eva.gg/en-US/contact-us) - [Our locations](https://www.eva.gg/en-US/locations) - [Book now](https://www.eva.gg/en-US/locations) [![logo-white](https://blog.eva.gg/hubfs/logo-white.svg "logo-white")](https://blog.eva.gg/en) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.twitch.tv/evaflowermound) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://discord.com/invite/zAJCrKH6qm) [Follow us on Twitter](https://www.youtube.com/c/EVAEsportsVirtualArenas) [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.facebook.com/EVAggFR) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.instagram.com/evagg_en) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.twitter.com) ### ABOUT EVA BLOG   Welcome to the EVA blog, leader in VR esports. At the forefront of innovation, EVA is reinventing the sport of the 21st century with revolutionary physical gaming arenas and next-generation esport competitions. But EVA is much more than just a new gaming experience. Find out all about the latest news and announcements for our immersive esport experience. en es ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "EVA Team", "url" : "https://blog.eva.gg/en/author/team-eva" }, "dateModified" : "2026-09-24T15:15:00.776Z", "datePublished" : "2026-09-24T15:15:00.000Z", "headline" : "How to Analyze a City Before Opening a Franchise", "image" : [ "https://blog.eva.gg/hubfs/arena-eva-1.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.eva.gg/en/how-to-analyze-a-city-before-opening-a-franchise", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" }, "name" : "EVA" } } ```