A new esports lounge at the Lincoln Park Boys & Girls Clubs building is bringing teens with different interests together.

“Most of us, we do our own thing. Some of us hoop, some of us go in the art room, but a lot of us like gaming, so we come in here, we communicate more,” Jakiele Taylor said.

The room has eight PS5 gaming consoles with headsets, a couple Nintendo Switches, and a big TV for a “Game of the Week.”

“This brings them into one space where they’re playing as a team, they can talk to each other, there’s camaraderie going on. There’s some healthy competition going on,” Director of Operations Emily Burnside said.

There’s also room for spectators.

“So other kids who maybe aren’t playing can come and get involved with learning those social emotional skills of cheering on their teammate, losing with grace, all of those things as well,” Burnside said.

“I feel like there’s a lot of different kinds of people here, and it kind of lets people connect easier, in a way. Like common interests,” teen Travis Splinter said.

The esports lounge was funded by the Charles Schwab Foundation, Taco Bell Foundation, the Pachel Foundation, and other individual donors. Leadership Duluth also donated time painting and setting up the space.

“We’re seeing this trend with esports and gaming across the country with teens where colleges and universities now have gaming as a major,” Burnside said. “There’s game design and web development, and so it’s all geared to spark interest in career areas but also it’s something that’s fun for them and they want to come here and be a part of it.”

Kenny Johnson pulled his weight against Jakiele and Travis playing Mario Kart, but both Kenny and Baihly fell short against the teens playing Rocket League.