Oklahoma State University Unveils New State-Of-The-Art Esports Arena

Oklahoma State University unveiled its new state-of-the-art esports arena.

School's leaders say it's another move toward cementing OSU as the Big 12 leader in esports.

Oklahoma State University leaders say this addition will help recruit students and keep them invested in the future. And those using this space say they're glad it's finally open.

There are more than three dozen gaming PCs in this room for students to use. It also offers a station for livestreaming -- with professional audio and lighting.

It's all for what the university says is its largest student organization.

"The student group has been competing for years and years, but they've really not had a platform, they've really just run it like a small business behind the scenes," Gamers of OSU Advisor Shaun Noll said.

Gamers of OSU Advisor Shaun Noll says the group has 500 active members.

They range from competitive gamers, to those who play casually.

"When you've got a club that's already doing a lot of the tournaments and things and that exposure, we have high-ranking teams at OSU, they just needed a platform to be seen," Noll said.

Sam Williams is the president of Gamers of OSU.

"It's a really big deal to have this first step, with engagement and getting students involved and aware that this is something you can make a career out of; whether you're an esports player, or you could be a strat comm, you could be a video producer, you could be a Twitch streamer," Williams said.

The global esports market revenue is expected to hit nearly $1.6 billion by 2024. It's an industry Noll says it just makes sense to try to tap into.

"When you start to build things like this, people are going to want to come compete here, and we need to be able to offer that, and a lot of that we can do already," Noll said.

They hope to expand on this space within the next couple of years.