Continuing with its substantial gaming presence, UW-Stout has seen the recent addition of an esports arena located in the Robert S. Swanson Library! Costing around one million dollars, the arena boasts 34 high-end gaming PCs each with an accompanying monitor, along with several gaming consoles and TVs for both competitors and spectators alike.

Despite how recently it opened, the arena has already been used to host some events. Just recently the space was used for a Rocket League tournament called the Red Cedar Rumble! This event brought together eight different teams from different colleges to compete, with Stout’s own team netting a close second place right behind the Carthage College Firebirds.  

If you’re interested in watching an event like this live (either online or in the arena), the Wisconsin Esports Conference Fall Championship LAN is coming up on December 6th and 7th!

The arena isn’t just for playing games either, as within the arena is a broadcasting room and a room for commentators. The latter of which will eventually be available to students to rent by students as a study/meeting space! And, of course, with a broadcasting room comes broadcasts, so if you are interested in catching games from the comfort of your home (or dorm) you can check out the UW-Stout Esports Twitch channel at https://www.twitch.tv/stoutesports.  

Stout has teams for games ranging from competitive shooters like Overwatch 2, Valorant, and Marvel Rivals, to the chaotic fun of Rocket League and Super Smash Brothers, so there’s plenty of options to go check out.

Finally, if you are interested in competing yourself the best place to start, according to Stout esports head coach Arron Froelich, is with the Stout esports club. The club aims to provide an introduction to esports, so if you would like to dabble in esports be sure to check them out at https://connect.uwstout.edu/sec/home/.