r/MarshallUniversity

Hi everyone!

I'm one of the owners of The Vault Family & Event Gaming Center, a family gaming and esports venue in Southern Ohio. We're working to build a sustainable grassroots esports community in a region where many players don't have easy access to in-person tournaments or LAN-style events.

I'd really appreciate hearing from tournament organizers, venue owners, esports clubs, and players who have successfully grown local gaming communities.

Our goal is to create a place where gamers can meet in person, compete, make friends, and help grow esports in our region rather than only playing online.

We're starting with weekly Fortnite Zero Build events, but we're also interested in games like Rocket League, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Marvel Rivals, VALORANT, Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, and other competitive titles.

I'd love to learn from your experience.

Some questions:

• How did you grow attendance in the early stages?

• Which games consistently brought the most players?

• Did weekly events work better than monthly tournaments?

• What incentives kept players coming back?

• What mistakes should new organizers avoid?

• What role has Discord played in building your community?

We're located in the Tri-State region serving Southern Ohio, Eastern Kentucky, and Western West Virginia, where there aren't many dedicated esports venues. Our hope is to create something that gives players of all skill levels a place to compete and connect while helping grow grassroots esports in our area.

If you've built a successful local esports community, I'd genuinely appreciate any advice you're willing to share.

For anyone who would like to learn more about what we're building:

📅 Tournament Calendar

https://www.thevaultohio.com/tournament-calendar

🏆 Tournament Portal

https://www.thevaultohio.com/tournament-portal

📧 Questions

info@thevaultohio.com

Thanks in advance! I'm looking forward to learning from this community.