Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

University of Arizona Jump-Starts New Esports Program With High-Profile, On-Campus Gaming Center

01/09/2021

University of Arizona Jump-Starts New Esports Program With High-Profile, On-Campus Gaming Center 1337 Facilities was at the center of the project By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor

Wednesday, September 1, 2021 - 7:00 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

Traditional stick-and-ball sports may have hit a speed bump during the COVID-19 pandemic, but esports leagues and teams hit the accelerator on productions. At the professional level, such organizations as the NBA 2K League or Activision Blizzard haven't skipped a beat. At the collegiate level, the University of Arizona is stepping into the esports ring with construction of a gaming center developed by 1337 Facilities.

It has been a great ride, and the opening [in July] was a lot of fun, says 1337 Facilities CEO Robert D. Jordan CVE. Universities are starting to embrace esports arenas, and it's something that students want to see and be involved in.

Cost-Efficient and Flexible: New Home Is Built in Pre-Existing Space

1337 Facilities transformed an old billiards room into the University of Arizona's new gaming center.

When the university expressed interest in starting an official esports team and subsequently established a program in March 2021, the next step on the agenda was to create a space for the competitions. Jordan and his colleagues were called in for the job, and, from the outset, the project focused on two main goals: a cost-efficient price point and a flexible room. Given the longevity of the pandemic and to avoid exhausting the pool of sponsorship money reserved for construction, the physical structure is in a pre-existing room in the on-campus student union.

It was originally a black-box theater, says Jordan. Then it became the billiards room, which we converted into the esports arena. Noting that the move helped trim spending, he calls it the ultimate reuse of square footage.

Since this new space has already hosted many other activities, the latter of the two priorities was a natural. And esports as a genre comprises different types of games and competitions. The University of Arizona alone will field five official teams in Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Valorant, and Rocket League.

Besides accommodating the communal nature of esports, the space can host functions that include officially sanctioned competitions, esports-club meetings, and students who want to play casually. AmpThink President Bill Anderson was critical to creation of a space where students can play games together after being separate for over a year.

Vertical towers house the gaming consoles, generate connectivity, and manage levels in the room.

We actually set aside close to 15% or 20% of the square footage for seating where students can hang out, Jordan explains. The university also wanted to have intramural tournaments and the ability to split the room for coaching sessions while still allowing casual play.

Interior Tools: Connectivity Towers, LED Lighting in a Multi-Configurable Space 1337 Facilities was tapped for the project nearly four years ago, but the onset of the pandemic in early 2020 caused a major snafu. Although the university closed its doors to both students and the public last September, staffers were eventually allowed back onsite, and the project gained new life.

Now that the dust has settled, the space is outfitted with some of the highest-quality esports technology. A total of 65 gaming stations can be deployed, and, to keep with the small-footprint theme and avoid installation of unnecessary equipment, the university's network is the basis of the center's 100G connectivity.

One of the more forward-thinking elements has already provided massive benefits. The vertical towers that contain the actual gaming consoles serve as the central hub of this connectivity. They also act as a buffer between the heat generated by the consoles and the players, keeping the playing area as cool as possible.

There are multiple levels, notes Jordan. We can put up to 20 PCs into a tower with its own power distribution and air-flow considerations. Since the room is multi-configurable, everything is able to move through different doors.

The room can adapt to any settings, but, to generate additional buzz for high-stakes tournaments or other events, the room comes with LED lighting fixtures that can remain static or pulsate with different colors.

https://www.sportsvideo.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Lights.mp4

Positive Impact: Inclusive Environment and Pathway to the Pros Having completed a massive undertaking to overhaul an underperforming space, 1337 Facilities is aiming toward a further expansion, including implementation of broadcast/streaming capabilities in Phase 2 and other elements in Phase 3. As students slowly return to campus, other opportunities are being explored for those interested in a career in esports: potential partnerships with the School of Information's game-design and -development program, the School of Journalism's broadcast-journalism degree program, and the Eller College of Management's sports-management program. The new gaming space can become the epicenter of educational efforts and a pipeline for students looking to further themselves in esports.

The new esports space is designed to host intramural teams, official esports teams, and individual students.

Students are now looking to use esports as a springboard [into other careers], notes Jordan. Whether it's working with VR, AR, artificial intelligence, coding, or pixel-to-pixel mapping, there are untold benefits.

He sees possibilities for long-term success but believes that, in the short term, the new arena is paying dividends by persuading prospective students to check out the campus and dive headfirst into this sector of the business.

Univ
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/09/01/university-of-arizona-jump-star...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

07/08/2025

Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, Redefining In-Car Entertainment Experience

July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...

15/07/2025

L3Harris Showcases Counter-Drone Capability to British Soldiers at VANAHEIM

L3Harris put its CORVUS-RAVEN counter-small UAS capability into the hands of soldiers at VANAHEIM, showcasing its ability to provide passive signal detect, enha...

15/07/2025

Netflix Leads Streaming Growth in June on the Strength of Multiple Big Titles in Nielsen's 50th Report of The Gauge

Netflix Viewing Up 13.5% vs. May, Represents 42% of Monthly Gain for Streaming ...

15/07/2025

Amagi Names Sangeeta Chakraborty as Chief Revenue Officer

SAN FRANCISCO and BENGALARU, India Sangeeta Chakraborty has been named chief revenue officer at Amagi, a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology pro...

15/07/2025

ATSCs New VP of Standards Development Touts 3.0s Global Potential

As part of its mandate, the Advanced Television Systems Committee the U.S. organization tasked with developing advanced broadcast TV standards promotes ATSC 3.0...

15/07/2025

QuickLink Launches StudioPro Proton and StudioPro Fusion...

QuickLink, the leading global provider of multi-camera video productions and remote contributions, announces the launch of two innovative control panels Studi...

15/07/2025

DPA Microphones Welcomes Chris Kontopanos

Chris Kontopanos has joined leading high-quality microphone solutions manufacturer, DPA Microphones, as the company's new Regional Sales Manager for the Mid...

15/07/2025

Magnifi Brings Seamless AI-Powered Solutions to Revolutio...

Magnifi by VideoVerse, a global leader in AI-powered video automation, has launched a major platform upgrade built to simplify live and archival video editing f...

15/07/2025

Telestream IBC 2025 Showcase Powers Friction Free Scalabl...

Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will preview its latest innovations at IBC2025, Stand 7.B21. This year's showcase highlights how...

15/07/2025

IBC2025 elevates attendee experience with seamless GVB tr...

IBC2025 is set to transform the onsite experience for its global attendees with the launch of a pioneering new feature: full integration of Amsterdam's GVB ...

15/07/2025

ASB GlassFloor Ignites Beats N Buckets with Game-Changing...

Music, sport and technology collided in spectacular fashion as ASB GlassFloor powered the debut of Beats N Buckets, Germany's first Basketball meets Hip-Ho...

15/07/2025

The Collectv Names Industry Leader Peter Russell as new M...

The Collectv, the Emmy award-winning broadcast solutions and workflows consultancy - and winner of Broadcast Tech's Team of the Year is delighted to announc...

15/07/2025

SipRadius builds in security and performance for IP conne...

SipRadius, the expert in secure, low latency media transport, will showcase how broadcasters and media companies can take control of fragmented IP workflows at ...

15/07/2025

beIN ASIA PACIFIC Enhances Broadcast Distribution and Int...

Appear, the global leader in live production technology, today announced its strategic partnership with beIN ASIA PACIFIC, a leading multi-platform sports media...

15/07/2025

Broadpeak to Reveal Pioneering Solutions to Scale Monetiz...

Company marks 15 years of innovation at the show Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and monetization at scale, will return to IBC (Hall 1, Stand F83. RAI, Amster...

15/07/2025

Hitomi Broadcast Demonstrates MatchBox Everywhere at IBC2...

New software solutions extend trusted timing measurement across broadcast, venue, and professional AV applications Hitomi Broadcast, the market leader in audi...

15/07/2025

Telycam Unveils Elgato Stream Deck Plug-in for PTZ Camera Portfolio

SHENZHEN, China Telycam has added control options for its portfolio of pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras with a new plug-in for Elgato's Stream Deck family of con...

15/07/2025

Chyron LIVE Completes AWS Foundational Technical Review

MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron said its Chyron LIVE cloud-native live production solution has successfully completed the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Foundational Technical...

15/07/2025

Xumo Expands Smart TV Portfolio With Westinghouse Launch

PHILADELPHIA The Xumo streaming platform joint venture between Comcast and Charter has announced the nationwide launch of a new line of Xumo TVs from Westinghou...

15/07/2025

Chris Kontopanos Joins DPA as Regional Sales Manager

LONGMONT, Colo. DPA Microphones said Chris Kontopanos has joined the microphone solutions provider as its new regional sales manager, Mid-Atlantic....

15/07/2025

SES Successfully Prices 1 Billion Dual-Tranche Bond Offering with Strong 5.5x Oversubscription

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN THE UNIT...

15/07/2025

Harmonic to Showcase Breakthrough Video Streaming and Broadcast Delivery Innovations at IBC2025

Harmonic's Hybrid, AI-Powered and Live Sports Streaming Innovations are Key ...

15/07/2025

The Next Level 4099 CORE+ Instrument Microphone

The well-known and well-loved 4099 has been completely revamped. It features amazing CORE+ technology, which eliminates distortion and extends dynamic range, a ...

15/07/2025

Comscore Partners with HyphaMetrics to Launch Advanced Person-Level Audience Measurement and CTV Program-Level Reporting

Comscore Partners with HyphaMetrics to Launch Advanced Person-Level Audience Mea...

15/07/2025

All Ireland Football semi-finals and Tailteann Cup Final draw large audiences to RT

Peak audiences of over half a million tune into both Kerry v Tyrone and Donegal ...

15/07/2025

PROTON Announces Production Facility Expansion Ahead of IBC2025

PROTON Announces Production Facility Expansion Ahead of IBC2025 posted: 15/07/2025 Proton Announces Production Facility Expansion Ahead of IBC2025 Alongs...

15/07/2025

Deadline Extended - Create a Project G-Assist Plug-In for a Chance to Win an NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPU and Laptop

Submissions for NVIDIA's Plug and Play: Project G-Assist Plug-In Hackathon a...

14/07/2025

L3Harris Secures Contract for Royal Moroccan Air Force C-130 Fleet Upgrade

The Royal Moroccan Air Force hosted a C-130 award ceremony with L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert a...

14/07/2025

Nielsen launches CTV Ad Spend Data into its UK Ad Intel product

UK launch set for September, following on from recent US and Germany releases London - UK, July 14, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, da...

14/07/2025

Telycam Unveils Elgato Stram Deck Plug-in for PTZ Camera Portfolio

SHENZHEN, China Telycam has added control options for its portfolio of pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras with a new plug-in for Elgato's Stream Deck family of con...

14/07/2025

Nominations Now Open for Best of Show Awards at IBC2025

The awards are open to IBC2025 show exhibitors and offer a valuable platform for companies to raise awareness for the new products and solutions they will be la...

14/07/2025

Clear-Com Expands Arcadia Central Station with Updates In...

Clear-Com is excited to announce a significant expansion of the award-winning Arcadia Central Station with new software updates. Together, these releases dram...

14/07/2025

Daktronics and Grass Valley Announce Strategic Partnershi...

Grass Valley and Daktronics today announced a strategic technology partnership that unites Grass Valley's live production expertise with Daktronics' lea...

14/07/2025

Veset Partners with swXtch io to Deliver Cloud Multicasti...

Cloud playout solutions provider, Veset, and swXtch.io, provider of cloud-based multicast and reliable networking solutions, are partnering to deliver multicast...

14/07/2025

Tintri Supercharges Global Partner Programme with Powerfu...

Tintri , a DDN subsidiary and leader in AI-powered data management solutions, today announces a game-changing and award-winning refresh to its global Partner P...

14/07/2025

HighField AI Now Commercially Available Advancing Broadca...

HighField AI, the broadcast industry's first agentic and multimodal AI platform for automating graphics production, is now commercially available. Developed...

14/07/2025

Encompass powers DAZN global broadcast of FIFA Club World...

Encompass Digital Media has today announced that it has been delivering a complex global services project for DAZN, the world s leading sports entertainment pla...

14/07/2025

MASV Showcases the Future of Mass File Movement and Monet...

MASV (massive.io), the fastest, most reliable large file transfer platform trusted by over 10,000 global organizations, announced today it will showcase its nex...

14/07/2025

Calrec to unveil new Argo Software Updates at IBC 2025 an...

Calrec is introducing a series of usability, customisation and system enhancements across the entire range of Argo consoles at IBC 2025, on Stand 8.C47. Look ou...

14/07/2025

ITV selects Fincons Group as strategic partner for their...

Fincons Group, IT business consultancy and systems integrator company with more than 40 years of experience in the market, is proud to announce a new engagement...

14/07/2025

Intinor Showcases Enhanced User Experience and Workflow F...

Intinor returns to IBC to present the latest updates to its Direkt series. A key development on show is Intinor Direkt Management (IDM), a web-based interface f...

14/07/2025

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Promotes AI in Washington, DC and China

This month, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang promoted AI in both Washington, D.C. and Beijing - emphasizing the benefits that AI will bring to business and s...

14/07/2025

Sony's New Coach's Headset Was Designed in Collaboration With the NFL

Sony's New Coach's Headset Was Designed in Collaboration With the NFL Featuring a custom dynamic boom mic, the headset will debut in the fall By Dan Da...

14/07/2025

Live From MLB All-Star 2025: MLB Network's Marc Caiafa and Tom Guidice on the Weeklong Efforts in Atlanta

Live From MLB All-Star 2025: MLB Network's Marc Caiafa and Tom Guidice on th...

14/07/2025

Netflix ISP Speed Index for June 2025

Back to All News Netflix ISP Speed Index for June 2025 Product 14 July 2025 Global Link copied to clipboard One percent of Internet Service Providers (ISP...

14/07/2025

Netflix Begins Filming 'The Map of Longing' With Alcia Falc, Pablo lvarez, and Georgina Amors

Back to All News Netflix Begins Filming The Map of Longing With Al cia Falc , P...