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AUBURN — Students and their families are invited to be among the first to experience the recently completed Esports Arena at Central Maine Community College in a grand opening Saturday, April 6.
The event will be from 9 a.m. to noon in Kirk Hall, at the same time as the college’s annual spring open house.
Students who visit the arena will have a chance to win an Xbox One with headset and extra controller.
The only arena of its kind in the state, the 1,600 square-foot center located in Kirk Hall is equipped with Alienware Area-51 Threadrippers; five console stations with Xbox One, PS4 Pro, and Nintendo Switch; and a Twitch broadcast booth for live streaming matches.
Esports (short for electronic sports) refers to the hugely popular and rapidly growing field of competitive video gaming. The college announced earlier this year it would be joining the National Association of Collegiate eSports starting in the fall.
Director of Admissions Andrew Morong said that CMCC continues to recruit top players in Maine and beyond to join the first teams. Students who participate will have to meet the same requirements as athletes at the college.
Some of the games the Esports teams will likely compete in include Fortnite, Rocket League, Apex Legends, Overwatch, League of Legends, CSGO, Rainbow Six Siege, Madden, NBA 2K, and FIFA.
Morong also said that CMCC will compete largely against four-year colleges since they comprise 90 percent of NACE membership.
“We will be the only community college north of Virginia to offer competitive eSports,” he added.
In addition to the Esports teams, CMCC is also starting a degree program for the fall semester in Esports Management that will focus on the business aspect of Esports, such as marketing, organizing and promoting events, and utilizing digital technology.
Anyone interested in more information may contact Morong at amorong@cmcc.edu or 207-755-5448.
PHOTO: The new Esports Arena at Central Maine Community College. (Submitted photo)
