Florida Poly Invests in Students with State-of-the-Art Esports Arena

Florida Poly continues to innovate, opening a new esports arena for their tech oriented students. This legacy will impact generations of students, giving them a place to hone their esport skills, compete on a national level, and develop real world skills such as teamwork and communication with their peers.

Florida Polytechnic University is no stranger to pushing the boundaries of STEM learning and creating unique opportunities to foster student success. On February 13, 2026, the Florida Poly team unveiled the latest addition to the future-focused campus: a new, state-of-the-art esports arena. By day, the arena will be open to all students to hang out, study and game. In the evenings, this elite space will be the setting for the school’s 14 teams to practice, compete and host esports games.

Design of the Esports Arena

The arena is designed to be a hub for student activity, and Derek Lower, director of athletics and recreation at Florida Poly, believes students will be in the arena every night, whether it be practicing or participating in various tournaments nationwide. The space boasts 20 high-performance gaming PCs fully equipped for competitive play, two large TVs dedicated to console gaming, and a 48-foot exterior screen for tournament play that will provide the opportunity for live crowds to engage with the action.

In a press release from the University, Dr. Devin Stephenson, Florida Poly’s President, shared, “I believe this arena exemplifies our very bold-thinking approach, creating a very modern university experience. To our students, your interests and success matter to us. We want you to have environments where you can challenge yourself, build community and gain experience, and now the esports arena is one of those spaces.”

The new arena amplifies a longstanding passion within the Florida Poly student body. In 2023, the University’s Valorant team won the NECC Challengers Division South Atlantic Conference title. In 2019, student Christian Lomenzo became the EA Madden NFL 19 Challenge champion, securing both national bragging rights and a $35,000 prize. Now, Florida Poly esports is part of the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC), fielding over 100 students across 14 competitive teams in popular games including Marvel Rivals, Overwatch, Valorant, and Super Smash Bros.: Ultimate.

In this case, Florida Poly was able to see an existing passion and provide students with an elite-level space to explore it.

Esports Program

The world of esports offers students an opportunity to develop other important skills, such as teamwork, communication, and community involvement that will only strengthen them as they graduate and move into their chosen career fields.

“In the field, we will have team-based projects, team-based coding, and you’ll never be working alone,” says Jannice Rivera, a junior majoring in computer science and esports student leader. “Esports gives you a chance to communicate with others and trust in them. One day you’ll have a team and will have to say, ‘I trust you with this, and in return, I’ll help you.’”