South Charleston Unveils New Esports Gaming Room

The community center's new facility aims to tap into growing popularity of competitive video gaming.

Published on Feb. 10, 2026

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South Charleston, West Virginia has opened a new esports gaming room inside its community center, featuring PCs and gaming consoles for a variety of popular competitive video games. The room will serve as a hub for local esports enthusiasts, including those interested in pursuing college scholarships for competitive gaming. Mayor Frank Mullens says the city has partnered with Levels Unlocked, a company focused on esports and sports experiences, to help develop the new facility.

Why it matters

The rise of esports has led many colleges and universities across West Virginia to start their own competitive gaming programs, offering scholarships to attract top talent. By creating a dedicated esports gaming space, South Charleston hopes to nurture local interest and provide a pathway for students to get involved in this growing industry.

The details

The new esports gaming room is located in the downstairs area of the South Charleston Community Center and features numerous gaming PCs as well as large projection screens. Visitors will be able to play a variety of popular PC and console games like League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, Fortnite, FIFA, NBA 2K, and Madden. The city has partnered with Levels Unlocked, a company focused on esports and sports experiences, to help develop the new facility.

  • The esports gaming room will have its official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, February 11, 2026 at 10 a.m.

The players

Frank Mullens

The mayor of South Charleston, West Virginia, who announced the opening of the new esports gaming room at the community center.

Levels Unlocked

A global company focused on creating immersive experiences and dynamic events in esports, sports, and health, which has partnered with the city of South Charleston on the new gaming facility.

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What they’re saying

“We have a large room at the community center in our downstairs area that we've converted into this space through the games end. We have numerous computers, I can't remember how many we have down there, but we have a bunch there, and we have some screens on the walls, some drop down screens from the ceiling, so there's going to be all kinds of space to do this.”

— Frank Mullens, Mayor (MetroNews Midday)

“It's a tournament atmosphere and it's a scholastic atmosphere, not only can you take classes in this, high school and college, but as I mentioned kids are getting scholarships to college to go participate in these activities and compete around the country and around the world I assume.”

— Frank Mullens, Mayor (MetroNews Midday)

What’s next

The city plans to continue developing the esports gaming room, with the goal of eventually being able to host tournaments that can be streamed online on platforms like YouTube or Twitch.

The takeaway

South Charleston's new esports gaming room represents a growing trend of local communities investing in competitive video gaming facilities to engage younger generations and provide pathways for students to pursue esports scholarships and careers.