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14 n e w h a v e n B I Z | F e b r u a r y 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m Esports facilities, curriculums growing on CT college campuses Virtual Gameday By Matthew Broderick I n 2020, the League of Legends World Championship, a multiplayer profes- sional online video game competi- tion, attracted more than 100 million viewers worldwide, a bigger audience than last year's Super Bowl. While video games have long been a multibillion-dollar industry, the online viewership through platforms like YouTube and Twitch — a live stream- ing service that focuses on video game content and competitions — has not only added a new revenue stream to the industry but also created a new category of competition called esports, which have exploded globally, especially at the high school and collegiate levels. While many colleges have built gaming centers in recent years to attract gamers — some even offering gam- ing scholarships — others, including a handful of Connecticut higher-ed institutions have begun offering formal curriculum-based programs in esports, an industry that is expected to grow more than 66 percent from $957 million in 2019 to more than $1.6 billion by 2024, according to market projections from Statista. One of those schools is New Hav- en-based Albertus Magnus College, which has launched a new 18-credit minor in esports administration and management. Courses include introduc- tion to esports, convention and event planning, sports marketing and promo- tion and ethics and sports management. e latest offering comes on the heels of a game and computer arts bachelor's degree program the school introduced in 2019. Both programs are currently only available to undergraduate stu- dents. "e [esports] program is designed to introduce students to the business side of esports, … including the promotional side of these games and tournaments, TV and social media," said Kristen De- Carli, director of Albertus' sports man- agement program and a former assistant athletic director at the school. In 2019, according to a NewZoo Global Esports Market Report, there were 885 major esports events globally that collectively generated more than $56 million in ticket sales. While the pandemic derailed many in-person esports events in 2020, it accelerated the industry's online view- ership, sponsorships and media rights, which accounted for more than 80 per- cent of the sector's $1 billion in revenue last year. Even professional sports leagues — including Major League Baseball — are running their own esports events to garner fan interest. Last year, more than 474 million people worldwide watched esports, up nearly 9 percent year-over-year, New- Zoo data found, with roughly one-third Central Connecticut State University opened a new high-tech esports center in September 2020. The facility (also shown below) cost $300,000 and included the involvement of tech companies Dell and Microsoft. PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED

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