Screaming and cheering rings through the athletes’ ears. Excited fans crowd around, standing with their adrenaline pumping. Coaches watch their athletes, reminding them of the long hours of practice.

It isn’t a football game, nor is it a basketball game, it’s a video game tournament, derived from a growing trend of e-sports.

E-sports have slowly gained popularity in the realm of competitive sports. With a $500 million value, e-sports is a growing industry.

Keegan Ferreter, senior in management information systems and vice president of Game Renegades, said in the next four to five years, the gaming industry could triple in value. Major companies like Mastercard, Arby’s and Old Spice are a few of the many companies jumping on the bandwagon of e-sports sponsorships.

This could potentially lead to new opportunities for Iowa State’s recreation services and e-sports fanatics.

Jason Vlastaras, associate director of student success, said he began noticing the trend after listening to podcasts and hearing how popular e-sports were. Vlastaras saw this as an opportunity to engage students who typically may not be involved with rec services.

“Providing opportunities for students to enhance their social wellness is a prime component of what we do, regardless if it’s lifting a barbell or playing video games with other people,” Vlastaras said.

By enlisting the help of Game Renegades, a video game club, Vlastaras wanted to hear feedback from students about potentially creating a space specifically for e-sports at Iowa State. An informal space for video games could potentially be used for sport clubs, intramurals or tournaments hosted by students.

Henry Larson, a junior in computer engineering and president of Game Renegades, started by gathering information through a preliminary survey to students involved in Game Renegades. 

Larson collected information that could help Vlastaras with viability, general student interest and other general knowledge of the gaming community. By understanding the viability, Vlastaras could better understand if it would be a good investment for rec services.

An informal space at rec services could benefit the Game Renegades club, as well as other students who casually enjoy playing video games.

 A few of the issues faced by Game Renegades is the lack of space and hauling heavy equipment to meetings and LAN parties, game renegade’s staple events. With an average of 25 to 30 participants, LAN parties usually hit room capacity.

“A lot of the people that we’re catering to and a lot of our demographic don’t have cars to necessarily get a big PC system to the LAN space we use at Coover, even seeing 25 is solid for us because it hits room capacity,” Larson said.

An informal space could mean students could drop in, play a video game and check out, potentially used for a de-stressor. Vlastaras said over the years of research, students visit rec services primarily for stress relief and meeting new people.

“We would look at it like a different activity offering, just like how we have outdoor trips and group fitness classes,” Vlastaras said. “We want to promote all dimensions of wellness, and I think there is a social wellness component of people playing games together.”

A dedicated space for gaming is not unusual. 

Tanner Hinders, a junior in journalism, said that Grand View University has a recruit program for League of Legends players, offering them scholarships. Hinders said there is a training facility specifically for the group, making training easier. 

Having a similar space, could benefit Iowa State’s League of Legends team, who placed in the top 16 in last year’s AVGL (college e-sports) fall tournament.

Vlastaras said the idea is still in an abstract stage, investigating whether the idea will be implemented into a concrete plan. 

Resources, space and longevity has yet to be determined, Vlastaras said he will continue to work with the Game Renegades club for more collected data.

Students interested in joining the Game Renegades club can join by accessing the student organization website.