Esports is a rapidly growing phenomenon in the country, and the University of North Texas hopes to get in on the action with a new practice space called The Nest.

The facility inside the Media Library is scheduled to open on Aug. 30, and it will provide a spot where teams playing competitive video games can practice their skills. The games range from Overwatch to League of Legends, the Dallas Observer reported.

The $200,000 space is open to any student or faculty member who wants to hone their gaming skills.

“There’s all this cool software out there that allows students to design and edit and create things, and The Nest will help bring it all to students.”
Erin Miller

The Nest is the creation of Vice President of Student Affairs Elizabeth With, who took an unused space in the library and loaded it with 15 custom, virtual-reality-capable computers filled with the most popular multiplay games, the Observer said. 

“There’s all this cool software out there that allows students to design and edit and create things, and The Nest will help bring it all to students,” Media Library head Erin Miller told the Observer.

To make The Nest a reality, three university organizations — the Media Library, Recreational Sports, and Student Services — joined together after talking with independently with UNT Gaming and eSports, the campus’s largest gaming group, the Observer said.

Realizing they all had a common goal, the groups pooled their resources.

UNT’s facility is another indication of the growing popularity of esports.

Two of the biggest competitive esports teams in the nation — OpTic Gaming and Team EnVyUs — announced recently that they are relocating their operations to Dallas.

And, in April, the UT Arlington Esports Club team bested a 64-team field in the three-week “Heroes of the Dorm” competition. Members of the team earned free tuition for the rest of their collegiate years for their victory.

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