The excitement is palpable as North Dakota State University (NDSU) gears up for the grand opening of its cutting-edge Esports Lab. Located on the third floor of Ladd Hall, this state-of-the-art facility promises to be a game-changer for both competitive gamers and casual enthusiasts alike.
A grand opening for the new Esports Lab is scheduled for Thursday, February 15th. The event will feature statements from President David Cook, Student Government, and current students. An open house is scheduled from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., with remarks starting at 4:30 pm.
According to Joe Cleys, the Esports Coordinator, several people have contributed to creating the state-of-the-art facility. “I’m relieved and excited. There is an overwhelming amount of effort from so many teams involved. Teams like our facility and construction contractors, electricians, IT group, plumbers, Student Government, and the many students who I sat in the lab with and built all the chairs and tables. Even effort from those who are no longer at the university,” Cleys said. “This project has been years in the making, and I’m beyond excited to share it with all of campus and our greater NDSU community.”
The all-inclusive space will be free for all NDSU students to access and available via a pay-per-hour fee for community members. Cleys said the space can function as both an esports arena for tournaments and has its own space for students to learn how to stream competitive team matches. In addition to competitive teams, the Esports Lab offers plenty of options for a more casual audience by offering a console gaming area.
“I’m excited about the different possibilities for events and programming the space can have in the future as well,” Cleys said. “For those wondering about the specs of the computers, they have an i7 core, NVIDIA 3080s for graphics, and a 1TB SSD. All of our peripherals are Hyper X brand that the students helped us choose. I would say the lab itself is one big love letter to the students. They were involved at every level of the process, and every student I’ve seen walk into the space has just been blown away by it.”
The esports community at NDSU is growing. Currently, there are eight titles students can play, and around 350 students have joined the Discord server. Titles include Rocket League, Super Smash Bros, League of Legends, Overwatch, Valorant, CS:GO, Halo, and Chess, with more titles set to make their debut.