A special addition to Towers Plaza will now provide gamers a place to call their own for competitive and recreational play.

The university opened a new esports arena in the lobby of the Towers Complex in early September, which caused the relocation of several other public spaces.

Esports is a form of competitive gaming in which gamers from different teams compete in various popular video games such as Fortnite, Rocket League, Rainbow Six: Siege, Call of Duty and Madden NFL.

Millions of fans from all over the world follow and watch participants compete. Southeast made it a point to unify the separate gaming groups on campus to a single space to compete and practice in the same room.

The arena is funded by Recreational Services, meaning students can use the facility, and since it is funded by Recreational Services, teams can host tournaments, wear team jerseys and reserve the arena for future events.

Raleigh Davis, manager of Southeast’s esports teams, is a graduate assistant in charge of marketing and programs for Recreational Services. Davis also creates content and manages the social media for the Student Recreation Center.

“There are 12 brand new personal computers, two brand new Nintendo Switches, two Xbox Ones, and a Playstation 4 Pro. There are gaming chairs at each of the PCs and gaming couches for the televisions,” Davis said.

The esports arena also holds audience seating, a part of the facility that becomes especially important during Southeast-hosted tournaments.

For the Southeast esports club, there is an ‘A’ team and a ‘B’ team for each game. The ‘A’ team will compete in club competitions while the ‘B’ team will train and prepare to compete in the future.

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Before the Southeast club begins to compete against other college teams, Davis said club members will participate in intrasquad scrimmages. Once a college team garners enough intercollegiate experience, the team can move to a higher level of play and compete in national tournaments.

A supervisor that watches the arena from noon to midnight to regulate the hours when space sees its highest traffic.

“As of right now, we have not had any issues with having to boot anyone out of their stations, and I don’t see it being a big deal,” Davis said.

There has been a long-lasting argument video game take away from school work. But Davis says esports are just like any other campus club or activity which can take time away from academics.

“Everything is good in moderation. It’s the same as playing a sport or joining a club, they could all take away from your schooling,” Davis said. “It can teach you multiple aspects of life.”

With a vast majority of on-campus students living at Towers, the location of the arena is convenient.

“I was happy to have a place to play video games where I can compete against other people if I choose to. I like the community-style because I like meeting new people,” Southeast freshman Lewis Anthony said.

For more information about esports at Southeast, visit the eSports Arena location in Towers Lobby next to Rowdy’s.