Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan and officials from the City of Jacksonville and the University of North Florida came together at UNF’s Student Union to cut the ribbon on the Flight Deck Esports & Innovation Arena.
The over 2,800-square-foot facility features 42 high-performance stations, a 10-seat competition stage for tournament play, a broadcast studio for streaming, shoutcasting, and content production, and a console play zone.
“Our esports facility is a career launching pad and a magnet that anchors students to UNF,” said Tom Screech, the esports program manager at UNF. “We’re building it in a thoughtful way, with the goal of being the most successful program in the state, so when people look around they’ll say, ‘UNF is doing it right, and that’s where you should go.’”
“This is an economic and workforce development effort. It is about investing in the human capital and the future of economy. Creating jobs, developing skills, and nurturing a rising esports industry that can diversify a region’s economy in a big, big way,” said Mayor Deegan…