We Are Fresno: Bitwise South Stadium

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Here’s a Fresno history lesson for you: a three-story building in downtown Fresno was originally a car showroom back in 1915, now, 100 years later, it’s re-opening its doors to a new kind of technology.<br /><br />In this week’s We are Fresno we have more on what Bitwise South Stadium means for tech in the central valley. <br /><br />At first glance, this 100-year-old building in the shadow of much newer additions looks old and tired, but in a few months 700 Van Ness will have new life as Bitwise South Stadium. <br /><br />&quot;Future home of a lot of technology companies and exciting things going on inside the technology industry,&quot;&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 13.3333330154419px;">Jake Soberal, CEO of Bitwise Industries said.&nbsp;<br /><br /></span>Soberal takes us inside the almost 50,000 square-foot space where huge pillars support one of Fresno’s highest ceilings, the walls now braced for extra support.<br /><br />&quot;It’s kind of a blank canvas for us to begin to build on,&quot; he said.<span style="font-size: 13.3333330154419px;"><br /><br /></span>The space has three floors and, currently, no roof, but Soberal says it will soon boast 40 tech companies from around the world, and more.<br /><br />&quot;A cafe, a theater, a gym, a tenant lounge,&quot; he said.<span style="font-size: 13.3333330154419px;"><br /><br /></span>A gym in this basement, on this ramp a theater for scientific lectures, even an 8,000 square-foot Geekwise Academy where anyone can learn to program. Craig Scharton is with the Downtown Fresno Partnership and owns a restaurant on the Fulton Mall. He says development in the new space is just the beginning. <br /><br />&quot;Sort of sneaking up on the Fulton Mall, everything’s building around it, and then once the street project goes in, boom, things are going to take off faster than people will ever believe,&quot;&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 13.3333330154419px;">Scharton said.<br /><br /></span>For Soberal, it’s about creating a home for Fresno’s exploding tech industry, which he says, the world is noticing. <br /><br />&quot;You really start to push towards that tipping point at which we’re able to do some exciting things that leverage not only our own talent, but the talent of the global technology industry from right here in Fresno,&quot; he said.<span style="font-size: 13.3333330154419px;"><br /><br /></span>Megan Rupe, reporting.</div>