CU Boulder's high-tech gaming lounge presses start
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The Alienware Buffalo Esports and Gaming Lounge at the University of Colorado Boulder. Photo: Courtesy of David Corazzari
A new gaming and esports oasis at the University of Colorado Boulder lets students train for and host competitions, play with friends and prepare for a career path in the gaming industry.
Why it matters: It's one of the country's first college campus-centered gaming lounges and the only one of its kind in Colorado.
State of play: The Alienware Buffalo Esports and Gaming Lounge is a 1,275-square-foot, $1.2 million space with top-of-the-line technology from Alienware, Dell Technologies' gaming brand.
- Through a tiered pricing model, it offers 17 gaming desktop stations, three laptops, a varsity room, broadcast studio, console games and a tabletop game space.
- Since its grand opening on Jan. 25, the lounge has attracted roughly 650 unique users, from students to staff to community members — and that number is growing everyday, gaming lounge manager Adam Pallas tells us.
The big picture: The facility reflects the growing popularity of esports — an industry valued at more than $1 billion — and comes in response to many of the 5,000-plus CU Boulder student gamers who were looking for a place to build their skills and a community on campus.
What they're saying: When students "have a sense of belonging when they're on campus, that yields to higher academic outcomes … greater retention … and a higher degree completion for every student," Pallas tells us.
- Meanwhile, gaming offers skill-building "they are going to need … for their careers: the collaborative nature, the communication skills, the focus, the follow-through that companies are going to be looking for," CU Boulder spokesperson Stacy Wagner says.
What's next: Dell created a new Alienware scholarship for students in CU's gaming community that will award $40,000 in $5,000 increments to two students annually over the next four years.
What we're watching: Dell, which opened its first gaming center at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022, is also expected to launch new lounges at more universities nationwide after receiving a "flurry of interest," Dell Technologies and Alienware spokesperson Frank Cestone tells us.
- "The next frontier for esports is happening on college campuses across North America," he says.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from Frank Cestone.