JUNCTION CITY (KSNT)- The new state-of-the-art Twin Valley Esports Arena, home of the Twisters, is taking the community by storm.
Located in Junction City at the 12th Street Community Center you will find a video game arena stocked with laptops, headsets and jerseys for team members.
Years ago, Junction City Parks and Recreation hosted an esports tournament, and it was a huge success. From then on, their goal was to create an arena for locals to use.
“They can come to the esports arena and play for free, where it would cost thousands of dollars just to have, let’s say, a nice pc setup to game on,” said Aaron Sheltrown, esports coordinator for Junction City. “If you don’t have a good connection, then you can have a lot of like data loss and packet loss, and it makes it really hard to be able to compete.”
According to Statista, the revenue for the esports market is projected to reach $4.8 billion by the end of 2025. There are even college recruiters who are scouting out members for their schools’ teams. Students can earn full-ride scholarships through gaming.
“The space itself is amazing, I think it’s that next-level experience that showcases what is possible for all of our area communities,” said Aaron Wertenberger, strategic operations manager for Twin Valley. “You can connect the youth of an area to all the technology and the games that their wanting to interact with and do.”
The arena was put into motion in 2024 and took about six to seven months to create. It has been up and running since may with over 450 members currently.
“I know some kids don’t play sports like me, they’re quiet, they don’t make friends as easily,” said Josh Gray, Junction City Parks and Recreation director. “This brings them a chance to build friendships in the community.”
Everyone is welcome to come and try out for the team, or just play at their leisure.
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