Gaming is for everyone! Sometimes that means its time to celebrate with parties and events. Our venue, located off Jenkins, is your home to do just that. From a child's birthday party, your graduation celebration, or a random get together for your group of friends because you're all around campus, we want to help make your event needs a reality.
OU Gaming Club originated in 2016 with the focus of creating a home for all things video game culture. This includes focused competition in the realm of esports, or meeting others through gaming, but most importantly, developing a place for these topics to be more accessible to all.
Opening our venue to the public as well as making it available for private party reservations is part of that continued mission to our our energies and cultures with all who are interested. Everything we have accomplished has kept students at the forefront of opportunity and development. Reservations are no exception as it helps students understand time management, customer service skillset growth, and managing event logistics in both planning and execution states.
Booking your event with us not only helps us amplify your goals, but it continues to give our students ways to grow and understand the entire business opportunity that gaming can present. We aim to be affordable, available, and accomodating along the way and hope to help you build memories right in the heart of OU campus through gaming!
If you want to see more details about venue, capabilities, and opportunities then scroll below before reserving. Otherwise, in the form below we collect basic information but we encourage you to provide as much detail upfront so we are prepared to answer as many questions you have in our responses as we work to secure your business and make your event happen.
Please reference our Venue Overview Page to get a look and feel as well as technology resources in our space. While the below summary provides a fast glimpse of resources we have we welcome the challenge of helping bring your event to life. If you "think" we can do it please submit a reservation request and let us prove we can.
The OU Esports & Gaming Venue Overview
QUICK SUMMARY:
If you are interested in bringing your own food such as a birthday cake, snacks, or a full on meal bar then please share that information as we reach out to assess your needs. You are responsible for the transport, setup, tear down, and cleanup of the area where food is being used in our space.
If you are intersted in using OU University Catering resources then please be aware of the following limitations:
Absolutely! Reservations are available to the public year round, but the sooner you get your reservation request in the higher the probability we can facilitate your event.
It depends on your needs for your event. If it's a request where you just want our podcast room for a private 4 person party, we would keep the venue open, but your event reservation would be cheaper. However, if it's a birthday party with 15+ people we would absolutely want to close the venue.
Part of our wants to keep reservations affordable allows us to mitigate some costs when we have hybrid space usage, but you will always have the opportunity to close the venue and have it entirely to yourself, if desired.
Absolutely! Because we are a full university department we can leverage and gain access to resources single entities may not be able to use. That ability comes from our development of friendships and partnerships across OU. A great example is the Black Box Theater in the adjacent building which is a great location for showcase type gaming events.
If you don't know where to begin or whats out there, don't worry! You can either email us at esports@ou.edu or fill out the reservation form and we'll strategize a solution based on your goals.
At this time, we do not offer the opportunity for alcohol consumption in our spaces including for reservation. There numerous compliances, policies, and workflows that must be completed to enable this. We are investigating and exploring this as an additional opportunity, but there is no ETA or promise it will ever be available.
The OU Gaming Club origins began in 2016 as a humble interest-based student organization. It would be responsible for creating the department of Esports & Co-Curricular Innovation (ECCI), gain physical space on campus, and amplify many of the same missions that overall university works on.
We love gaming and this space is for ALL gamers regardless of level of intensity, purpose, or personal or business related. Take a moment and read perspectives from the OU family that have called upon us to make their goals a reality.
Our experience at OU’s eSports and Gaming Venue was genuinely exceptional! The staff went above and beyond to ensure everything ran smoothly, offering both kindness and support throughout the entire event. The wide variety of gaming options made the space highly engaging, providing something for all skill levels and genre interests. Most importantly, the atmosphere was incredibly comfortable and inclusive, making our students feel welcome and at ease. We would absolutely recommend this venue for future events and look forward to returning!
We had a great birthday party for my son at OU esports! The staff made the event so easy to plan and host, and their willingness to help navigate gaming setups made it fun for even the littler ones. What an awesome space for the gaming community in Norman. We will definitely be back!
My son and his friend had an amazing time yesterday. They loved the setup and the ability to play on the different platforms offered. When you have 6 boys from the age of 13-15 years the personalities are so different. They were able to play several games against each other. There were a lot of laughs (how they did not bother the other players) and a lot of fun. As mom of a teenage boy, I don’t get to see him and his friend having a great time every often, so this was such a joy for me to see. You guys were amazing! They put up with the teens and my little one (a 7-year-old playing on his tablet). They were very accommodating to all the boys and to us. They gave a tour of the place and explained the process of putting the room together. They also explained the room the on-air abilities with the green screen. It is an awesome setup. This venue is awesome, and we will be back. My husband and son are already planning an outing for just them. The venue is clean and safe. The computers are up to date. The boys played on the PS5 mostly, but my son loves the computer games from Steam.
OU Esports:
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