Inside Full Sail University's The Fortress' - the Largest College Esports Arena in the U.S. The facility will be home to the Armada collegiate team and third-party events By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - 10:34 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
One year after launching its own collegiate esports team, Full Sail University is kicking its esports-production efforts into high gear with the launch of a $6 million, 11,200-sq.-ft. esports arena next week. Dubbed The Fortress, the new facility is the largest gaming arena on a U.S. college campus and can seat up to 500 fans. It not only will serve as home to Armada, Full Sail's collegiate esports team, but will also be used for a variety of third-party gaming events, collegiate tournaments, live-streamed esports competitions, and live concerts.
Full Sail will officially open the $6 million, 11,200-sq.-ft. Fortress esports arena on May 21.
Full Sail has a unique ecosystem, in which students are intimately involved in our live productions. In addition, gaming is very much a part of our culture here through our game-design and -development [programs], says Vince Lepore, director, event technical operations, Full Sail University. I think Full Sail is uniquely positioned to be a leader in esports. We are already a leader in a lot of the elements that go into esports production, so it just seemed like a natural fit for us.
All About Flexibility: From 1v1 to MOBA to Battle Royale
Full Sail began designing the facility - which is located in a converted soundstage at its Winter Park, FL, campus - more than a year ago and has worked closely with Orlando-based systems integrator Pro Sound and Video on the project. One of the key factors in its design was Full Sail's desire to have an ultra-flexible space that could accommodate a variety of esports formats, from 1v1 competitions to 5v5 and 6v6 MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) games to battle royale setups featuring as many as 100 players.
Flexibility was really important to us, Lepore explains. We put a lot of effort into designing the room so that we could do a traditional end-stage configuration, as well as an in-the-round configuration. What we didn't want to have to do was rehang the speakers, the lighting rigs, the LED walls and everything; we wanted to be able to just flip between the two configurations in a reasonable amount of time. That was one of the big elements of our design criteria and drove a lot of the technology decisions.
Inside the Control Room: Powering the Fortress
The control room, which is located on the second floor adjacent to the main arena, is heavy on Ross Video gear, including a 3M/E Carbonite Black switcher (36 in, 22 out), Ultrix router (112 in, 112 out), Ross Xpression graphics, and a variety of OpenGear terminal equipment. Other key pieces include a 12-channel EVS XS3 replay server, a monitor wall composed of six Sony 43-in. displays, and a G&D KVM system.
The arena will serve as home to Full Sail's Armada collegiate esports team, as well as to other third-party gaming events.
The audio room features a Calrec Brio 36 console (fitted with Dante, MADI, and Waves I/O cards), Calrec Hydra2 fixed format I/O (48 in, 16 out), Waves Soundgrid Server One, and Genelec monitors and subwoofer. Communications are handled by two RTS Telex ODIN OMNEO digital intercom systems.
The Fortress doesn't currently house a separate observer room to produce in-game action ( observers are essentially the in-game camera operators); instead, the main control room will handle the entire production. However, Full Sail is exploring the possibility of adding an observer room in the future.
We don't have a separate observer space right now, but we are looking at a couple of adjacent classrooms and adding some connectivity in there, says Lepore. Those may end up being used as an observer space, or they may double as practice rooms or green rooms for competitors. We have some adjacent spaces that we are already eyeballing as part of a potential phase-two [project].
Inside the Arena: A Professional-Level Esports Experience
The Fortress features a variety of Absen 2.9-mm LED walls, including a 36- x 11.5-in. upstage LED wall (dubbed the Main Tron ) and, in the center of the arena, a halo-shaped LED display ( Ring Tron ) measuring 24 ft. in diameter. The competition area also features four center LED walls hanging inside the Ring Tron and six LED banner displays. The LED displays are driven by a trio of Green Hippo Karst+ Hippotizer media servers.
A halo-shaped LED display - dubbed the Ring Tron - in the center of the arena measures 24 ft. in diameter.
The challenge was to create [a facility] that would allow us to have an in-the-round or end-stage configuration. So we have the Ring Tron as the visual centerpiece for the room for in-the-round and the Main Tron for an end-stage setup, says Lepore. The four smaller LED walls that hang inside of the Ring Tron are all on trusses and motors, so we can place them in different areas of the room very easily. The whole [arena] is quite flexible, so it gives us a lot of options as to how we configure the space.
Lepore and company also have flexibility when it comes to the location of the caster desk. Full Sail already has an esports caster desk, which can be located on a riser inside The Fortress or can be positioned inside one of the many large soundstages immediately adjacent to the arena.
We've got some flexibility with the caster desk, and it's going to be an interesting element for us, says Lepore. Some people want to be inside the arena, and we have the capability to do that. Or we also have a news-desk setup in one of the nearby soundstages that could be used for casters as well. We have that flexibility because of the nature of our campus and the
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
Inside Full Sail University's The Fortress' - the Largest College Esports Arena in the U.S. The facility will be home to the Armada collegiate team and third-party events By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
