CMCC Open House to feature Grand Opening of new eSports Arena
Interested students and their families will have an opportunity to be among the first to experience the recently completed eSports Arena at Central Maine Community College when the college hosts its Spring Open House on Saturday, April 6, from 9 a.m. to noon.
The only facility of its kind in the State of Maine, the 1,600 square-foot arena – which will be operational for the event – 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. Students who visit the arena, located in the college’s Kirk Hall, will have a chance to win an Xbox One with headset and extra controller.
eSports (short for electronic sports) refers to the hugely popular and rapidly growing field of competitive video gaming. The college announced earlier this year that it is joining the National Association of Collegiate eSports (NACE) starting in the fall. Director of Admissions Andrew Morong notes 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 other athletes at the college.
Some of the games in which the school’s eSports teams will likely compete include Fortnite, Rocket League, Apex Legends, Overwatch, League of Legends, CSGO, Rainbow Six Siege, Madden, NBA 2K, and FIFA.
Morong also notes 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 launching a degree program in eSports Management that will focus on the business aspects of eSports, including the use of digital technology and the marketing, organizing, and promoting of eSports events.
CMCC is located at 1250 Turner Street in Auburn. For more information about eSports programs at the college, contact Andrew Morong at 755-5448 or amorong@cmcc.edu.