“Game on!” – Radford’s newly expanded Esports Center is open for competition

Ready player one?

Hope so, because Radford University’s $1.2 million Esports Center had its official opening on Oct. 23.

That debut was marked with the cutting of a long, red ribbon and a burst of applause from staff, students, gamers and a healthy crowd of alumni in town for homecoming weekend.

“This journey began about six years ago, with a strategic initiative proposal and a vision to bring esports to our campus,” D.J. Preston, director of recreation and wellness, declared at the event.  

“Fast forward to today,” he continued. “You are seated in one of the best collegiate esports spaces in the nation by any metric you choose.”

The new facility, located in Peters Hall B121, represents a vast leveling-up over the initial gaming space that opened on campus in September 2022.

At 10,000 square feet, the Peters site is roughly seven times larger than the previous space, and it’s lit by an array of large, narrow columns of white LED lighting, scattered overhead like giant pick-up sticks. The center includes 80 PC units, quadrupling the original 20, and features team rooms, a media space and a competition arena.

“More than 1,000 different students have already used this space this semester, and 137 of them are representing Radford while competing against schools across the nation,” Preston said.

During the festivities, Preston introduced Garrett Palmer ’26, an internationally ranked esports gamer who’s due to complete Radford’s MBA program this spring. He has already secured a job with Kiewit Corporation, a Nebraska-based construction company, beginning in August.

“I'll be a financial analyst, overseeing civil infrastructure projects in the southwest region of the United States,” Palmer told the audience at the event, to applause.

He got that job in part, he said, due to experience he gained through an internship overseeing the budget development of the esports center.

Palmer said that, as an ambassador of the games, he’s spoken to students from around the world who want to attend Radford because of its embrace of esports.

“It’s a rapidly growing industry,” Palmer said. “This center really positions Radford as a premier esports destination. I can confidently say it’s a top 5 region facility in the nation that we’re standing in today.”

Kevin Rogers ’87, who founded the Federal Innovation Network and the Cyber Advisory Partners security and defense technology consulting firm, and who has served as president of Radford’s advisory board, spoke at the event and said the new center is also one of the largest in the country.

“This is no dinky facility, folks,” Rogers said, and voiced his support for the field: “Everybody thinks they’re just playing games. The reality is [students] are gaining skill sets.”

Preston, Palmer, Rogers and Radford Associate Director of Esports Doug Benedict all stood side by side with about a dozen athletes as Preston and Benedict shared a pair of oversized scissors to clip the ribbon.

In his remarks, Preston also explained how the center fits into an overall multipronged philosophy.

“We think about our program through three pillars: community, competition and academics – and we like to say this space represents the pinnacle of interdisciplinary study,” he said.

“Our students have almost unparalleled access to incredible technology and experimental learning here.”

The Esports Center will be open noon to midnight daily and remains free for students, who can access the community space by swiping their university IDs at the front desk.

Radford offers a 15-credit esports services minor in which more than 100 students are currently enrolled.