Southeast Missouri State University has announced it will be developing an eSports venue in the Towers Complex, where students can participate in recreational and competitive video gaming.
It will open just in time for the start of the fall 2019 semester, and will be located in the building’s computer lab on the main floor.
The venue space will feature 12 personal computers designed specifically for competitive, fantasy-type gaming. Independent gaming will also will be available with Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo consoles. Visitors can watch games in progress via a 70-inch television and gaming furniture. Managed by Recreation Services, the space will be open 24/7.
Associate vice president for student life, Dr. Bruce Skinner says over the past couple of years, eSports has grown by a little more than 25% in participation each year.
“[The venue] allows our students who are already gaming... to come together to do a couple things,” Skinner says. “The first one is very simple: just to interact with each other, actually bringing them out of their rooms to form teams. And two, as part of forming those teams, the ability to now play competitive games.”
He says the difference between eSports and general video gaming was how seriously players took the experience.
“It’s more than just their hobby,” says Skinner. “This is their sport.”
For some, this could lean into their career-path if they are interested in game design, game testing, or animation. But Skinner explains that the venue was not directly geared towards academic purposes.
The total cost of the project - including equipment - will fall between $90,000 and $100,000 after completion. Skinner says this price was rather minor, considering they used the computer lab in Towers, which had declining use.
The operations may cost roughly $1,000 a year for student travel and possible computer replacement.
Three students have already been sent to participate in an eSports event in St. Louis representing the university, and Southeast will be joining a professional association of colleges involved in eSports events in the future.
It would provide the university the opportunity not to travel, but compete remotely, Skinner says.