UAlbany Unveils New Esports Arena for Gamers
By Mike Nolan
ALBANY, N.Y. (Sept. 27, 2024) — Gamers at the University at Albany now have a state-of-the-art facility on the Uptown Campus they can call home.
Today, the University unveiled a new 4,000-square-foot arena to meet the growing needs of UAlbany Esports, which is among the country’s largest collegiate competitive video gaming programs.
Accessible through the Lecture Center, the arena features an open space with 36 Lenovo Legion T7 gaming PCs, each with a 240Hz refresh rate and 1-ms response time. The arena also has two casual gaming areas, a broadcast and media content creation room for students covering live esports events, and a large spectator area for fans. The console stations are equipped with PlayStation 5s and Nintendo Switches.
The arena is now open for competitive team practices and matches, as well as general student use between 5 and 10 p.m. daily.
“Esports are much more than a hobby. Gaming is a rapidly growing industry and UAlbany’s Esports team is an important avenue for students to become more engaged in competitive video gaming,” said UAlbany President Havidán Rodríguez. “I am proud that UAlbany is home to one of the nation’s largest collegiate video gaming programs and so pleased that our new arena will support the existing program and provide opportunities for its continued growth.”
National Leader in Esports
Through the support of President Rodríguez and the Division of Student Affairs, UAlbany Esports launched in 2019 under the direction of Michael Leczinsky, professor of practice in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC).
Since its launch, the team has won several national championships, as well as the Fall 2021 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Esports Commissioner’s Cup, an award recognizing the program that achieved the most success across all the video games in which the conference sponsors competition.
In 2022, UAlbany announced plans to build a new gaming facility on the Uptown Campus and launched a $1,000 merit scholarship for select incoming esports freshmen. Verizon also awarded the team $10,000 that is being used toward new gaming consoles, games, headsets and other equipment as needed.
“The launch of UAlbany Esports was met with a tremendous amount of interest from students of all majors and backgrounds and has quickly become one of the top collegiate programs in the nation,” said Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Michael Christakis. “The new arena marks the next chapter and will position the program for even more success in this emerging industry.”
John Macone, a gaming community specialist and collegiate esports leader with nearly a decade of experience, took over this year as UAlbany’s new esports director. As program leader, he will oversee more than 90 students and about a dozen teams competing in the ECAC.
The UAlbany Esports team competes in games including Overwatch 2, League of Legends, Fortnite, Rocket League, Rainbow Six, Call of Duty, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, FIFA and Valorant.
“This new arena holds endless possibilities for UAlbany Esports,” Macone said. “I’m thrilled to open our space and look forward to all the creative ways that UAlbany gamers embrace competition, community and skills development through their passion for video games.”
More Than Just a Game
With viewership in the hundreds of millions for top professional esports events — and revenues projected to reach $5.9 billion by 2029 — the competitive gaming industry is thriving, including locally.
As of February 2024, the Capital Region had 20 digital gaming studios with a total of 510 workers, according to a report released by the Center for Economic Growth. The region is home to large studios including Blizzard Entertainment, Velan Studios and WB Games New York, as well as multiple other companies that provide services to the digital gaming industry.
CEHC offers an 18-credit game design and development minor, along with an undergraduate concentration for informatics students, and is exploring more academic programs that will provide students with a pathway to the wide variety of careers in digital gaming.
Macone says he envisions the esports arena being a space for all gamers in the Capital Region.
“We hope to offer an inclusive environment for anyone passionate about video games,” Macone said. “This includes creating new video game-related student organizations, planning and hosting public events in the arena, and further engaging with local high schools and the wider Capital Region gaming community.”
Those interested in learning more about UAlbany Esports can email [email protected].