The ISU Board of Trustees passed a heap of resolutions this month related to renovation and repair projects on campus totaling approximately $27 million. Among those was a proposed improvement initiative to develop part of the Bowling and Billiards Center (BBC) into an esports facility at an estimated cost of $5.95 million. However, the proposal did not go without opposition from some board members who find the price tag a little too high. Others, like the Vice President of Student Affairs, Levester Johnson, believe that the arena could help them earn back that revenue.
“This thing is fast-moving,” Johnson said, pointing out that IHSA approved esports as a sanctioned high school activity and has established statewide competitions. “Students develop an interest in esports well before high school, and it’s something they consider when applying to colleges. About 2,500 prospective students last year identified esports as one of the criteria they were considering while choosing a school. Over 1,500 of them came to this institution, so we see this as a recruitment tool as well.”
This is not ISU’s first strategic commitment to esports. In 2019, it became the first public university in the state with a varsity esports program. Then, esports was initially granted a few hundred square feet of dedicated space on campus, housed in two spaces called “DIGGS” and “The Vault.” The proposed $5.95 million expansion would see 10,000-square-feet in the southern end of the BBC converted into the ISU Esports Gaming Center and Arena.
Despite objections, the resolution passed 5-2. “It’s not a fad. This is not something that’s just going to go away,” Johnson told the board. “We’ve got Illinois students who are selecting Illinois State University because of we’ve built here. If we don’t stay competitive if we don’t stay on the front end of this? Yeah, these students are going to go someplace else, possibly.”
(All information was provided by WGLT)
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