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Beachfront

Esports Arena Grand Opening What you need to Know

Published: Wednesday, 27 September 2023

Written by Esperanza Hernandez-Muñoz (She/Her), Communications Student Assistant

ASI is committed to investing in students’ educational and social experiences at The Beach, which is why we are beyond excited for the new and improved Esports Arena!

After cutting the grand opening ribbon and hearing from a variety of speakers, attendees were able to mingle and test out all the new equipment. All before the Long Beach State University (LBSU) esports team faced off against California State University, Fullerton in an exciting tournament.

Esports Association President Alyx Nguyen said, “I was a little surprised to see the amount of people that attended, it was a lot more than I think any of us were expecting! A lot of people from the esports [teams] at local universities came out to congratulate us on our grand opening and that was a heartwarming response from the esports community.”

This project came to fruition through the collaboration and dedication of ASI alongside Academic Technology Services (ATS) and former ASI Executives. Thanks to an impactful $80,000 worth of funds from the Student Excellence Fund (SEF), the Esports Arena is a fully modernized space with cutting-edge technology that is more representative of our current and future Beach community.

When I spoke with John Barcelona, former ASI Vice President of Finance and a driving force behind this project, as to why this project was important to him, he explained, “I knew that the Esports club had many members in their community, but they didn’t have the place to play, they didn’t have the location or the support they needed to engage more students.”

Barcelona pointed out that the previous Esports Arena setup failed to meet the demands of our students and clubs. And with the large and ever-growing interest in Esports, ASI needed to proactively address our facilities’ role in supporting both current and future students. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of many, the Esports Arena now stands as a proud symbol of what our students are capable of.

As for the future of the Esports Arena, Barcelona expressed his eagerness, stating, “I'm really excited about the future of the project. I want to see [LBSU] be a part of the gaming industry. We have students here that I want to see compete in higher levels which can open the doors for scholarship and internship opportunities. There is also potential to compete internationally where students could potentially be recruited by a team or someone in the gaming industry.”

The Esports Arena represents a significant step forward in ASI’s commitment to creating a positive impact within the gaming community at LBSU. We look forward to the boundless possibilities the Esports Arena will offer to our students educational, social and professional development as they play, practice, compete and hone their skills within our facility.

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