Belong Gaming Arena, a new business that provides space for video gamers at CoolSprings Galleria, will partner with Williamson County Schools to start esports programs at local schools.
“Middle Tennessee has exploded in the tech sector and we want to be on the frontlines of a workforce pipeline, and esports helps exposure into careers,” said Jeremy Qualls, executive director of College, Career, and Technical Education and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center for Williamson County School District.
“With Belong, we can immediately offer students an entry point into this space and develop a sense of community between students and schools.”
Scholastic esports programs allow students to compete in video games similarly to how they might compete in traditional stick-and-ball sports. For example, students from different schools could compete against each other in recurring tournaments for titles like “League of Legends” or “Call of Duty.”
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Williamson County Schools has explored other tech-based approaches to education. Since 2018, district students have been able to enroll in a dual-credit mechatronics program in partnership with Columbia State Community College. Students All graduates earn an associate of Applied Science degree on graduation day in high school.
While no formal academic programs have been announced for esports in Williamson County, Mary Antieul, vice president of strategy at Belong Gaming Arena, said fostering a love of video games can encourage students to pursue tech careers.
“Scholastic esports and gaming is a fast-growing sector of the industry and provides students with educational and social development opportunities, but accessibility is a frequent barrier,” Antieul said. “As schools continue to build esports programs around the country, Belong Gaming Arenas has a unique opportunity to support schools and students to get involved in the space.”
Belong Gaming, an esports arena with 48 stations for online video gaming, opened in December at CoolSprings Galleria. The space is located near the Belk men’s and kids’ store on the mall’s first floor.
Each Belong Gaming station is equipped with a PlayStation 5 console, a gaming PC and a headset for online chatting. The stations allow gamers to play popular titles including “Fortnite,” “League of Legends,” “Minecraft,” “Valorant,” “Dota 2” and other games.
Cole Villena covers Williamson County at The Tennessean, part of the USA Today Network — Tennessee. Reach Cole at cvillena@tennessean.com or 615-925-0493. Follow Cole on Twitter at @ColeVillena and on Instagram at @CVinTennessee.
