Two leading Kansas City area sports design firms have partnered with the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) to help develop build guidelines for varsity venues in the emerging esports industry.
Henderson Engineers recently joined Populous, who developed the original set of guidelines, in the NACE official guidelines endeavor. The guidelines include tiered templates for the build-out of collegiate esports spaces which cover architecture, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, technology systems and computer peripherals.
NACE is a member-driven organization that focuses on the positive development of esports, which is rapidly gaining popularity, especially on college campuses. NACE advocates for members to create varsity programs that include scholarships for its participants and a strong institutional commitment to the sport.
"Collegiate esports is still relatively new, but the growth has been rapid in a few short years. As the largest varsity association in North America, we want to make sure this growth continues and a large part of that is in the creation of guides and resources for membership,” said Michael Brooks, executive director at NACE.
NACE named Populous as the preferred architectural designer and Henderson as the preferred mechanical, electrical, plumbing and technology designer. Esport Supply, a system target company with KC headquarters, is serving as the association’s official technology partner and outlining the computer and peripheral options involved with the expansion.
“As interest has exponentially grown in esports among the student population at universities and colleges, this document provides the perfect resource to hit the ground running,” said Marvin Mastin, brand activation team manager at Populous.
NACE is the official governing body in college esports, and since its founding in 2016, has grown from six founding members to now more than 150 colleges and universities with varsity programs in the United States and Canada.
“It has been a pleasure to collaborate with NACE and Populous and showcase the design talent and knowledge in Kansas City by developing these holistic design guidelines for esports spaces,” said Kevin Butler, sports practice leader with esports focus at Henderson Engineers.
Earlier this year, the Kansas City Sports Commission & Foundation formed the Kansas City Esports Coalition (KCEC) with the mission to use “gaming for good” by developing, advocating and enriching the esports culture in the greater Kansas City area and beyond. Mastin, Butler and Brooks are all members of the advisory council, along with Jake Zinn, founder of Esport Supply.