Renderings of the varsity esports space at the University of Akron.

AKRON, Ohio -- The University of Akron will have more space dedicated to esports than any other university in the world, beginning in October, officials claim.

UA announced three new dedicated spaces for its five new esports teams, totaling 5,200 feet. Esports is the term used to describe teams competing in specific video games, such as Overwatch and League of Legends.

Construction or renovation and equipping it with consoles and computers is estimated to cost around $750,000.

The cost could be offset by sponsors. The university secured its first sponsor, Stow-based Audio-Technica, earlier this month. The company will supply headsets for each player station for varsity and recreation teams, as well as headsets with attached boom microphones for commentators.

Audio-Technica is also contributing about $5,000 in scholarships for varsity players and student audio-engineers.

A university spokesman said UA is in talks for more sponsorships.

The new spaces, outfitted with more than 90 computers and 30 consoles include:

1,222-square-foot gaming arena on the first floor of UA's InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field and studio for broadcasting the events.

2,646-square-foot esports center located on the first floor of the Jean Hower Taber Student Union, which will house 300 students representing 10 esports club teams.

1,338-square-foot recreational gaming cafe on the first floor of UA's Honors College which will be free to students in good academic standing. Passes will be available for purchase for community members, alumni or faculty who want to use the cafe.

"This reflects our program's commitment to ensure -- whether you're a student who likes to game casually or are a dedicated competitive player -- that there's a space for you to celebrate your love of gaming with others who share that passion," said Michael Fay, Jr., director and head coach the esports programs, in a press release.

"We're not divided by the type of game we play, the platform we play it on or how competitively we play it."

The facilities are expected to open Oct. 5.

Esports is only just reaching mainstream recognition in the past few years, despite a huge following of longtime watchers.

More than 60 colleges and universities have esports programs recognized by the National Association of Collegiate Esports, according to tech website Engadget. Many more universities have teams outside the organization.

ESPN launched an esports section early in 2016. Worldwide competitions draw huge viewership; about 80 million people tuned into the League of Legends Worlds championship in 2017.

There's potential in the future for universities to make money through advertisements and sponsorships and student-athletes could compete for large pots of prize money.

Investing this much money into esports could draw criticism though, especially from those unfamiliar with the subject. UA has been facing deficits since 2015 and officials predict a $16 million deficit for the coming year.