Game On: Comets Celebrate Opening of New Esports Landing Spot

The University of Texas at Dallas opened Comets LANding, one of the largest and most comprehensive collegiate gaming and esports centers in the country, on Jan. 30.

“We wanted to make sure that this was going to be the absolute best version of a collegiate gaming center that we could possibly provide our students,” said Dr. Dan Goodwin, director of the UT Dallas Student Union and Student Union programs. “It’s a huge moment for collegiate esports and for student affairs at UT Dallas.”

The newly constructed, two-story facility is approximately 16,000 square feet, houses more than 100 PCs and offers an arena for esports matches as well as facilities to broadcast the matches online. It also houses a Buffalo Wild Wings GO location.

“The support for building Comets LANding has been incredible,” said Dr. Gene Fitch Jr., vice president for student affairs. “Everybody in UTD leadership understands the positive impact this will have on our students.”

The Comets LANding name was created by Rifat Siddiqui, a creative writing graduate student, who won a student affairs naming contest for the center.

In addition to gaming spaces, the facility also features an outdoor green space and a 304-inch screen that will show live game matches, special programs and movies. To support the esports matches, Comets LANding also features a full-scale broadcast and production suite that will stream games on Twitch, YouTube and other platforms.

While many matches will occur in the new gaming arena, UTD esports teams will still use their existing space, which is down the hall from the new facility.

Students involved in the campus esports program hope the facility will bring more attention to the success of the UTD teams.

“We may not have football, but we have one of the best esports programs in the country,” said Noureen Hoq, a graduate student in applied cognition and neuroscience and an esports manager. “It’s exciting to have a physical space like this to show everyone how good we are.”

Since its launch in 2018, the UTD esports program has won a pair of national titles and was ranked among the top 10 programs in the country by Best Colleges in 2022. Student Union officials believe there is a significant interest at UTD in not just watching esports teams, but also playing video games.

“We wanted to make sure that this was going to be the absolute best version of a collegiate gaming center that we could possibly provide our students. It’s a huge moment for collegiate esports and for student affairs at UT Dallas.”

Dr. Dan Goodwin, director of the UT Dallas Student Union and Student Union programs

To provide a place for the entire UTD community to enjoy extracurricular gaming and socializing, the facility features not only PCs, but also PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo units.

“We’re really excited to have a space for people to game, whether they are super-competitive gamers or casual gamers,” said Josh Buchanan, gaming and esports program manager. “We also expect to attract students who have never played before but just want to spend time with their friends, make connections and build community.”

Buchanan said that Comets LANding makes UTD stand out among U.S. universities.

“It shows UT Dallas’ dedication to listening to students and providing something that they’ll really enjoy,” he said. “This facility will really enhance the UTD experience.”