Esports community reflects on program as SU opens 3rd facility
“Fandom takes a while to build and establish.” After Syracuse University officially opened its third esports facility Friday, many said it marked a new beginning for building the major’s participation and fanbase. Avery Magee | Photo Editor
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
After Syracuse University officially opened its third esports facility Friday, its “fandom” said it marked a new beginning for building the major’s participation and fanbase.
SU’s new facility, located at the Marley Education Center, hosted its first Super Smash Bros. competition following a grand opening on Friday.
SU’s existing spaces for esports in the Schine Student Center and Barnes Center at The Arch focus on student recreation. The Marley facility is meant to act as a dedicated academic facility, according to SU’s Director of Esports Competition Travis Yang.
Yang said although the competitive sport is young, there’s potential for a big future.
“We are so early in esports,” Yang said. “If you think back to any traditional sport that’s been around for dozens of years, fandom takes a while to build and establish.”
The new esports center is designed specifically to support the university’s esports majors, with higher end equipment than the other centers, Yang said.
The new facility includes the first ever esports control room on campus and an auditorium. The additions were built to provide a professional-level environment previously unavailable at other locations, Yang said.
“When you talk about really engaging students in a PCR that they’re used to from Newhouse, that did not exist for the esports side of things,” Yang said. “The space that they now have in that classroom can support anywhere from eight to a dozen students live, working a show each night.”
The facility hosts some of the same high end camera and audio equipment found in Newhouse School of Public Communications’ main broadcast centers, including game replay and technical director’s stations to assist with livestream visuals.
The new facility’s black box studio, used for commentary during live esports games, was expanded to accommodate four student broadcasters simultaneously.
Rayshawn King, a sophomore esports communications and management major, called the facility “one of a kind” nationally. King said new features of the facility, including four “observer” PCs and a sound booth to assist with live games.
“Eventually it will become an actual classroom for students to go and learn the production side of esports,” King said.
The rapid expansion of esports facilities comes after a direct order from SU Chancellor Kent Syverud, Yang said. The chancellor’s involvement ensures the esports program has the resources to lead the field nationally, Yang added.
“What makes Syracuse different from any other school I’ve been to is that the chancellor actually provided the resources and the administrative backing to actually accomplish those goals,” Yang said.
Now, the investment is starting to pay off in recruitment. Syracuse recently hosted the New York State High School Esports Championship and participated in recruiting combines in New Jersey, Yang said.
Yang said SU’s facilities have become a “beacon” on the East Coast, drawing in interest from high school esports athletes. Esports is currently at an “interesting” spot, he said, because many SU students are familiar with casual gaming, but aren’t invested or aware of the competitive side of video games.
Despite its new state-of-the-art equipment, some gamers said the program faces the challenge of building a consistent on-campus network. Praket Ehimay, an SU law student and Gaming and Esports Club member, said the SU’s esports centers sometimes feel quiet.
“I haven’t really seen it packed before,” Ehimay said. “More activity starts with the people at the top who coordinate events regularly.”
Yang said building a fandom on campus takes time. He compared it to the history of “traditional” sports like basketball or football.
“We know that the audience is there. We see that in the number of students we have in our facilities,” Yang said. “The next step is how can we then get that in front of the students to be like, ‘Hey, take your fandom one step further.'”
King said the new Marley center will become the primary venue for varsity matches. While Schine’s esports remains the “home ground” for many students, he said he believes the superior tech at Marley will eventually make it the heart of the academic program.
“(Marley) feels 10 times better than it is inside Schine,” King said. “Once people find that place out and take a step inside and experience it, they’re going to be stuck on it.”
