Investor goes outside the rink

The burgeoning industry of e-sports, or professional video-gaming (yes, that's a thing) got a big boost recently from a star of the Tampa region's real-life sports scene, Jeff Vinik.

The owner of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning and lead developer of a 53-acre, $3 billion redevelopment of southern downtown Tampa, Vinik has invested in aXiomatic, parent company of e-sports franchise Team Liquid. Los Angeles-based aXiomatic, according to a statement, was founded in September 2016 “with the goal of bringing the resources and resourcefulness of its ownership group to the professionalization of esports.”

Terms of Vinik's investment weren't disclosed.