UNF celebrates Flight Deck Esports & Innovation Arena grand opening

The University of North Florida community on Friday celebrated the grand opening of the state-of-the-art UNF Flight Deck Esports & Innovation Arena in the John A. Delaney Student Union.  

Announced in April 2025 and supported by a $3 million grant from the Jacksonville City Council, the space will serve as a hub of innovation and experiential learning for students seeking STEM-related careers. UNF will also host regional and national competitions, fostering a vibrant community where education, technology and esports converge. 

UNF Interim President Angela Garcia Falconetti spoke at the event, as did UNF Board of Trustee member Nik Patel, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan and Councilman Will Lahnen. Dr. Brian Verkamp, UNF vice president and chief information officer, hosted the event. 

The UNF Flight Deck will offer students opportunities to develop skills in esports-related fields such as live commentary, esports broadcasting, audiovisual and IT operations, competitive team management and hands-on roles in event coordination and crowd engagement. The esports industry is projected to grow to more than $6 billion by 2030. 

"The UNF Flight Deck will open new pathways for students interested in science, technology, engineering and math, while also teaching them communications, teamwork, strategic thinking and similar skills,” Falconetti said. “At the same time, this arena will strengthen our regional workforce, attract more visitors to campus and generate meaningful economic impact for our community.” 

The Flight Deck measures more than 2,800 square feet and accommodates up to 170 guests. It features 42 high-performance stations, each powered by latest-generation Intel Core processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 graphics. Every station is equipped with high-refresh-rate monitors to ensure competitive-grade responsiveness, including a dedicated 10-seat competition stage for tournament play. Other features include a broadcast studio for streaming, shoutcasting and content production; and a flexible console play zone for casual console-based gaming. Additionally, the arena's location next to the adjacent student auditorium allows for additional spectator seating to watch live streams and the hosting of large-scale events. 

“Our esports facility is a career launching pad and a magnet that anchors students to UNF,” said Tom Screech, UNF Esports program manager. “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.’” 

As president of the Esports Club at UNF, senior multimedia journalism major Will Raffier says having an Esports Arena on campus is a great resource for students and the community to socialize, learn about competitive gaming and feel connected to the university. 

“I think the Esports Arena will do a great job of engaging the community outside UNF and bringing them in,” said Raffier. “We hope to host events where students can play games and get exposed to esports, because getting more people involved — whether as players or spectators — is the ultimate goal.” 

Following the grand opening, several exciting competitions and events are scheduled to take place in the UNF Flight Deck in the coming months, including: 

• Duval Kart Clash (March 7) - A countywide Mario Kart 8™ tournament open to all high school students. 
• GeoGuesser Tournament (April 10) - In partnership with the World Affairs Council Jacksonville, this video game event for more than 50 high school students drops the player into a random place on Google Earth and ask them to pinpoint where they are on the globe. 
• Osprey Overwatch Invitational (April 11-12) - A collegiate Overwatch 2™ tournament featuring competitive teams from Florida colleges and universities competing against each other. 
• National Association of Collegiate Esports (July) - The largest association of Varsity College Esports professionals in the USA is hosting their annual convention at UNF with more than 200 attendees. 

Learn more about UNF Esports and upcoming gaming events and take a virtual tour of the UNF Flight Deck.