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A Spotlight on Loudonville Shedding light on its past, present and future SPOTLIGHT EDITORIAL STAFF news@spotlightnews.com LOUDONVILLE — Once a place for Albany’s social elite to vacation from the urban bustle, Loudonville continues to be an escape of sorts for people today. With this edition of Discover Loudonville, our staff delves into the storylines that make this community unique from all others in the Capital District.
Visitors approaching from the south on Route 9 never mistake once they’ve made it to Loudonville. This pocket park serves as a wonderful place to stop and enjoy a serenity that is mere minutes away from downtown Albany. Photo by Jim Franco / Spotlight News
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Developing on memories
Four years after it was torn down, Hoffman’s Playland is still a Loudonville icon
Memories
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Hoffman’s had a way of bringing people from around the area to one location; one promising fun, affordability and family time. Huck Finn’s aptly renamed the playland By KAITLIN LEMBO under its umbrella, however the memories of heading up and JIM FRANCO Route 9 to see the iconic clown sign is not lost upon the news@spotlightnews.com town. Facebook reader Anne Borghetti recalls trying to LOUDONVILLE — As excavators continue to touch her toes to the trees as she rode on the paratroopers. develop the land that once boasted adjacent attractions Another Facebook reader, Ed Kuta, remembers making to Hoffman’s Playland, they find golf balls in the dirt; a scary noises as the train would go through the tunnel. memory of what was once a thriving family business of Several other Facebook readers, including Frank Huttner, fun and family in the heart of the Capital District. remember going as children and then bringing their It’s been approximately 1,460 days since a family children there. entered Hoffman’s Playland and rode the train or took “I’m happy I get to bring my grandson to the new a spin on the carousel. Dave and Ruth Hoffman, the location,” Huttner said in the comment. namesake and owners of the land, closed the park in 2014, Laura Amato used to work at Hoffman’s. As a high after the season ended. The 8.14 acre lot was sold to 608 school and college student, she and a few of her friends Loudon Road, LLC in 2013, according to Colonie town decided to get summer jobs as ride operators. Amato records. The land has lain barren since the final day, with the rides and attractions acquired by Albany’s Huck Finn’s worked the majority of the time on the carousel or the Warehouse and More — the new park recently completed train. a fourth season. “It was a really awesome summer job to have,” Amato, now a resident of New York City, said of her employment “We have so enjoyed keeping the memories alive and making new ones,” a Facebook comment from Huck Finn at the family-owned business. “If it was too hot, we didn’t reads. “[We have hundreds] of families share pictures with work. If it was raining, we didn’t work. us of them as kids and now with their kids. [It’s] hard to “I remember a couple times in the beginning of the believe it’s been here for four seasons already.” year where there was such a low turnout,” she continued.
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“I would just lie down on the benches in the train station and hang out for my shift. We all basically hung out all day because so few people were there.” Amato regarded the Hoffmans as “some of the sweetest people around” and as “incredible bosses,” adding they were very involved with the park and were there all the time. She recalled during sweltering summer days, when the park had reached almost maximum capacity, navigating the train through the station under Dave’s watchful eye. “You had to park the train so the back wasn’t too far out of the train station, and the front wasn’t in the crosswalk,” she said. “I’d look up and see Dave standing where he could see me park, and he’d watch me for hours.” Amato’s fondest memory is of the friends, and eventually husband, she met while working at the theme park. “We would get burnt on the train engine, get super tan while working,” she remembered. “My proudest talent still is being able to jump off a moving carousel without getting hurt. If I aimed my foot for the gum stain on the ground, I’d land every single time. “It was an amazing summer job,” she concluded.
property and would be passionate about its development.” According to an article from the Albany Business Review, Malta-based company Burke Companies entered into contract for the land in early 2017, but as of November 2018, the parcel hasn’t changed hands. The company is known for its ownership of several Dunkin’ Donuts franchises in the area. Plans for the parcel under Burke Cos.’ control is unclear. “We are looking at any and all possible configurations,” Burke Cos. CEO Tom Burke said at the time. Mahan confirmed Burke Companies and Schuyler Companies have considered developing the parcel in the past.
The Village at New Loudon
In 2005, New Loudon Associates, LLC purchased the playland’s adjacent land, where the mini golf course, ice cream stand and driving range stood, for $5 million. The land was purchased from another member of the Hoffman family, Bob. “We sat down and had a meeting with Mr. Hoffman about what he would like to see for the land in the future,” Anthony Fazzone, managing member of New Loudon Associates, LLC, said. “He wrote down what his objectives were and we wrote down ours.” There have been Within a half no plans submitted hour, Fazzone said for development of the men had come the parcel, Colonie to an agreement. spokeswoman Hoffman was Sara Wiest said, shocked when the adding while casual developers said they discussions between potential developers wanted to keep the location the same for and town officials have happened, no awhile, at least until they could adequately company has formally introduced a plan to pay the tax and interest on the sale. In the planning board. Wiest continued the all, New Loudon Associates, LLC put $1 town does hope to see the land developed. million into the property before they began constructing the current occupants, The “That section of the Route 9 corridor, Village at New Loudon. where the driving range was and where [the] Hoffmans decided to sell the “We wanted to show we cared about playland, it’s a big piece of property and the land and what was going to happen,” we have been picky about what goes there Fazzone explained. He was once a frequent because we want it to look nice,” Colonie visitor of the playland and its neighbor Town Supervisor Paula Mahan said. with his children. “The improvements “What we are hoping for, when that is drew people in, which ended up giving us developed, we want it to follow the pattern more money to pay against the taxes and that is there now —the same look and interest, which meant we could actually style and the walkability concept … So far build something great and not get bogged what is there is very beautiful.” down.” The contract with Schuyler Companies The Village at New Loudon now sits expired. The land is still owned on paper by proudly at the very center of the Capital 608 Loudon Road, LLC. The ownership District area, a pulsing heart of retail, of the land is still under the control of the pedestrians and cars. Traffic is heavy, but it Hoffman family, Mahan said. Schuyler means people are coming, regardless of the president Eric Larner said he is willing to new location of the playland. pursue development in the future. “The land around the former playland “Unfortunately, at the time there has been developed responsibly and looks was just some things that needed to be great,” Fazzone said. “There might be some straightened out in order for us to move traffic, but it means we have created a place forward with our proposed development,” Larner explained. “We love the Hoffman’s Continues on next page
The Hoffman land
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3,150 sq. ft drive-thru, and a retail center the same size as the restaurant. The plan received concept approval at the May 2016 meeting, but lapsed in late 2017. Wiest explained concept approval is good for 18 months. where people want to shop, eat and meet.” In May 2018, Costa went in front of the planning board again and received renewed concept approval. The plans have been sent to the town for final approval, Eric Johnson, developer of Stonecorp Development and the Behind The Village at New Loudon, Marini Homes developer of the project, said. is developing apartments and retail centers. Bob Marini, owner and namesake of the business, said the “We anticipate final approval to be handed down development was a long time coming. during the first quarter of 2019, however we will not know for sure until the agendas are made,” Johnson said. “It takes awhile to get stuff approved,” Marini said. “The Hoffmans agreed that development was best for the “We are anticipating breaking ground during the second quarter of 2019.” property. The parcels now there could not be supported originally.” Johnson added he does not foresee any setbacks to the upcoming development. Marini was also a fan of the theme park and attractions. He used to take golf lessons, and he used the The speed at which the project is fully completed will driving range and miniature golf course frequently. depend on how long it takes for the retail spaces to rent “It’s such an attractive property,” Marini continued. out. The restaurant will be built first. Johnson continued “People want to go there.” A Frame Pools has “absolutely not” gone out of business; the company will be moving into the retail center and will Marini added he is almost done with development. boast a smaller store than the stand-alone store it once “I don’t have much land to build on now,” he said. “I have the 57 apartment buildings and one office building.” had. As the land around it grows and prospers, the last piece — the actual playland parcel —sits quietly. Time has passed, but the memories of the one-time summer Across the street from the Marini development and destination still float in the air. The area is almost the Village, the land that once housed A Frame Pools is unrecognizable from what it once was. looking at rejuvenation. Owned by JK Loudon, Wiest “It’s a developer’s dream to see it prosper and thrive as said town records show Advance Engineering and Land it has,” Fazzone said. “There’s enough to do for everyone. Surveying, PLLC, owned by Nicholas Costa, submitted a It looks amazing.” plan in May 2016 for a 5,050 sq. ft. restaurant, an attached
Developing on memories
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The burden of guilt A Loudonville native placed the blame of Lincoln’s death upon his shoulders, and paid dearly for it By MICHAEL HALLISEY halliseym@spotightnews.com
promoted to major. Rathbone, however, is remembered most as being among those present in President Abraham Lincoln’s press box on the night he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865.
Albany
T
he feeling of guilt, whether justified or not, can eat away at a man’s mind. Such is the case of Henry Rathbone. Rathbone, a native of Loudonville and son to former Albany Mayor Jared Rathbone, was a decorated soldier in the Union Army. He was educated at Churchill’s Military School in Ossining, then later graduated from Union College and Albany Law School. He was a captain in Company C, 12th U.S. Infantry during the Civil War He fought Confederate forces at Yorktown, Fredericksburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna River, Totopotomoy and Petersburg. He also commanded his company at the Battle of Antietam in September 1862. Through his service, Rathbone received three brevets for gallant and meritorious service and was
Henry Rathbone was born among Albany’s social elite on July 1, 1837. His father, Jared, was a provision merchant, director of the State Bank of Albany and of the Albany Insurance Company. He was also a trustee, and later, president of Albany Medical College. Jared holds the unique distinction of being the last Albany mayor to be chosen by the city’s common council, and the first to be elected by popular vote. Mayor Rathbone was a member of the Whig party. The political party was popular under an anti-rent platform that combated against the patroon manor system commonly in place in the Hudson Valley since New York’s colonial days. His political allies included U.S. Representative John I. Slingerland, and prominent Albany
Clara Harris and her fiancé Henry Rathbone, each of Loudonville, were often guests of President Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary, as they attended plays in Washington, D.C. Her father, Ira Harris, took his seat in the U.S. Senate in 1861, the year Lincoln became president. Photo by Seward R. Osborne
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The burden of guilt
judge and U.S. Senator Ira Harris. The Anti-Rent movement was thrust into motion after the death of “The Last Patroon” Stephen Van Rensselaer III in 1839. In life, he was forgiving to his tenants, he accepted partial payment when times were tough and sometimes allowed rent to accumulate. When he died, however, his will called for the collection of all rent to offset the debts of his estate. When attempts were made to collect, tenants revolted resulting in a squirmish near Berne that pushed back a militia of 500 men led by the Albany County Sheriff. Renters soon relented, but the tension remained high, sparking future incidents between tenants and collectors. Harris was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1846. From that convention, tenants’ rights — including the abolition of feudal tenures and leases lasting longer than 12 years — was written into state law. Ira Harris was a good friend of former state Governor and U.S. Senator William Seward. When Seward accepted his appointment as Lincoln’s Secretary of State in 1861, Harris took his seat on the
Senate. He quickly developed a reputation for speaking his opinion, even if it was against popular view. He exhibited this trait before the president and the two later became close friends. The United States was soon marred by a bitter civil war. Arguments over choosing which matters should be decided
“What will Miss Harris think of me hanging on to you?” — Mary Lincoln, to President Abraham Lincoln by state or federal law boiled over into a war between the remaining Union and the newly formed Confederacy. The war would last from 1861 to 1865. The end of which is widely remembered as being once General Robert E. Lee signed his formal surrender at the Battle of Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. Five days later, President Lincoln and his wife Mary were scheduled to attend a play at Ford’s Theatre.
Washington
In 1845, the Rathbone and Harris family ties intertwined. Henry Rathbone’s
father died, as did Harris’ wife and mother to his children, William and Clara. Harris subsequently married Henry’s mother, Pauline. The marriage was something like “The Brady Bunch,” said Mark Bodnar, past Historical Society president of the Town of Colonie. “Clara developed feelings for Henry at a young age,” Bodnar said. “In time, Henry became attracted to Clara. Although they were not related by blood, as both step-brother and –sister, their soon-tobe courtship was frowned upon in many circles.” It was years before any courtship took place. Rathbone briefly pursued a law career before taking off to tour Europe.
“She won’t think anything about it.” — President Abraham Lincoln, responding to his wife, with a smile He was called back to the United States with the prospect of earning an officer’s rank in the Union Army once war broke out. The romance between Rathbone and Harris did not blossom until after the two were in Washington. From there, it is said
the First Lady took to the young couple. Clara described an exciting night with the Lincolns the night before their visit to the theatre in a letter to a friend. People in Washington were excited about news suggesting an end to the Civil War. Lee had signed his surrender just a few days before, and Lincoln was expected to learn of details from other armies spread throughout the country. The war had taken a toll on Lincoln, but current events had livened his spirits. Lincoln addressed a crowd gathered outside the executive mansion the night before. From the second floor window, he aroused cheers from the crowd. Clara witnessed it as she stood with Mrs. Lincoln from the window of an adjoining room. She wrote how she listened to him speak of “the events of the past fortnight, of his visit to Richmond, of the enthusiasm everywhere felt through the country.” Mary told her “the past few days” had been the happiest of her life.
Ford’s Theatre
The attempt on Lincoln’s life was one part of a larger scheme by Confederate sympathisers, with Booth as the ringleader. As Booth attended to Lincoln, coconspirators targeted Seward and Vice President Andrew Jackson. Ulysses S. Grant, the commanding general of the
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the face with a knife before his attacker escaped. The attempt on Jackson’s life never happened. Rathbone and Harris accepted the Lincoln’s invitation to attend the show with them. Harris picked out a white satin dress for the night. Booth could not keep quiet about his sympathy towards the Confederacy. He was in Albany when war broke out between the North and South. The actor reportedly angered the audience when he called the South’s cession “heroic.” His fame as an actor grew as he continued to perform to high acclaim throughout the country. His mouth landed him in trouble in Chicago, after wishing the country and the president would “burn in hell.” To escape the charge of treason,
he pledged his allegiance to the Union along with paying a hefty fine. His anger towards the Union grew to rage as the Confederacy unraveled in 1865. He had initially attempted to kidnap Lincoln that March. He, along with his conspirators, were to ambush his carriage but the president’s plans changed. His plans to merely kidnap the president changed after Lee’s surrender. And, once Lincoln declared he would seek to have freed slaves obtain the right to vote, he planned on murder. Moments before Lincoln was shot, a theatre usher witnessed Booth near Lincoln’s presidential box at Ford’s Theatre. Now a famous actor, his sight at the theatre was not surprising. He had performed on its stage before. His family was also friends with the theatre’s owner, John T. Ford. When the usher called his
name, Booth reportedly produced a card and signed his name. He then disappeared behind the door leading to Lincoln’s box. John Frederick Parker, the policeman assigned to guard the door, had left his post at intermission to visit a local tavern. Inside the president’s box was Lincoln, Mary, Harris and Rathbone. This was not the first time the young couple had attended a show with the Lincolns.
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Ford’s Theatre with Lincoln. However, Grant and his wife declined the invitation. Booth reportedly planned to have all four men killed to throw the North’s leadership is disarray and provide the South an opportunity to regroup. Seward was attacked while nursing injuries from being thrown from his carriage a week before. He was gashed in
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drawn into reading up on the history surrounding Lincoln. As security manager of both the Times Union and Albany Capital centers, he was intrigued by how freely the president and his wife traveled. According to Harris, it had developed into “We’re in a completely different time a regular occurrence since the two families now,” said Geary. both arrived to Washington D.C. at the In the years Geary has held his post, he same time. Nonetheless, in the same letter has observed and devised security for high to her friend, Harris described another profile entertainers and dignitaries. Details exciting scene as the four took their seats of which he did not share, but he explained at the theatre. “The president was received that where his responsibility lies within with the greatest enthusiasm,” she stated, the venue, and those attending, there is as he took his sit in a rocking chair from another level of security implemented by Ford’s home furniture. The joyous evening those the crowds come to see. Looking is said to have continued, with Mary back at the details surrounding Lincoln’s continuously holding on to her husband assassination in 1865 is a case of as the two enjoyed the show. Conscious “hindsight” being “20/20.” of her outward affections, she asked him, Many close confidants, including his “What will Miss Harris think of me wife, said Rathbone blamed himself for hanging on to you?” He smiled and said, — Maj. Henry Rathbone, not stopping Booth. Despite his attempts “She won’t think anything about it.” Guest of President Lincoln to wrangle him down, and the near Shortly after 10 p.m., Booth slipped at Ford’s Theatre on the night fatal wound he suffered as a result, he himself into the president’s box and remained critical of himself in the years of his assassination barricaded the first of two doors leading that followed. The court of public opinion, inside. Familiar with the production thwarted by an astute pharmacist. She died against several ailments. He was reportedly held by those who thought the war veteran on stage, “Our American Cousin,” it is should have done more, was just as critical. abusive towards Clara. He was jealous on July 15, 1882, eleven years to the day said Booth timed his shot to occur at its Geary said, “I don’t think it was fair.” as men paid attention to her, and as she after their youngest son, Tad, had died. funniest moment. As Lincoln joined the The security measures of today contrast paid attention to their own children. He rest of the theatre in laughter, Booth struck After a 12-day manhunt, Booth was suspected Clara would leave him and take the plans administered during Lincoln’s with a loaded derringer. found stowing away at a Virginia farm. Refusing to emerge from the tobacco barn the children. And, through all this, he long lifetime. Since Lincoln, the United States “I heard the discharge of a pistol has suffered through two slain presidents in which he found refuge, he was shot and felt guilt over not stopping Booth. behind me, and, looking round, saw and several more attempts. With the Rathbone was appointed as the U.S. killed by Boston Corbett, a Union sargeant through the smoke a man between the murder of John Lennon and other Consul to the Province of Hanover by and one-time hatter in Troy. door and the president,” Rathbone said. celebrities as well, high profile people are President Chester A. Arthur in 1882. The Rathbone lunged towards Booth and Rathbone and Harris returned to following year, Rathbone shot and stabbed more likely to take precautions against the initially seized him. Booth wrestled out Albany to heal. Harris was said to have unthinkable. While the public could walk Clara to death and attempted suicide by of Rathbone’s grip, produced a knife and kept her dress in a closet at their family’s up to the front door of Lincoln’s White stabbing himself in the chest five times. He thrusted the blade towards his opponent’s cottage in Loudonville. Accordingly, she survived only to be found guilty of murder, House a century ago, said Geary, a member could not find herself to wash or discard it. chest. Rathbone said he “parried the blow deemed insane and spent the next 27 years of your favorite rock band is “all wellby striking it up.” The move slashed the “It was also said that one year to the protected now.” inside of his left arm, from his elbow to his day after Lincoln’s assassination, a rocking of his life in an asylum. Nearly half a century after Lincoln’s “The carefree goings-on in D.C. and shoulder, down to the bone. Despite the chair in the same room where the dress how the president and Mary could go to a injury, Rathbone attempted to grab Booth was hanging in the closet began to rock all murder, Henry Riggs Rathbone had the a second time as the assailant jumped from by itself and the ‘low laughter’ of President brick wall in his family’s Loudonville restaurant or a play without security,” said cottage broken down. His mother’s dress, the balcony and on to the stage before Geary. “It’s nowhere near as it is today.” Lincoln was heard,” said Colonie Town still hanging inside the concealed closet, escaping. Historian Kevin Franklin. “After this With Rathbone and Harris as guests of “As he went over upon the stage, I cried event the closet door was removed and the was dragged outside and burned. It had the president, the responsibility of security been nothing but a curse on the family. opening bricked up.” out, ‘Stop that man,’” said Rathbone. “I was never his. In today’s world, there then turned to the president; his position would be “someone with [Lincoln] all the The couple married a few years later and was not changed; his head was slightly time,” said Geary. “Each dignitary has his had three kids. Rathbone’s temperament bent forward and his eyes were closed.” grew volatile over time as he combated Jack Geary Jr. said he was recently own security.” Despite his injury, Rathbone helped assist transferring Lincoln out of the “It was also said that one year to the day theatre. He crumpled to a heap, and only then was the seriousness of his injury after Lincoln’s assassination, a rocking known. Harris tended to her fiancé. Blood chair in the same room where the dress splashed onto her face, her dress, as she attempted to stop the bleeding with was hanging in the closet began to rock nothing but a handkerchief. all by itself and the ‘low laughter’ of “My dress [was] saturated with blood, my hands and face were covered,” wrote President Lincoln was heard. After this Harris. “You may imagine what a scene, event the closet door was removed and and so, all through that dreadful night when we stood by that dying bed. Poor the opening bricked up.” Mrs. Lincoln was and is almost crazy.”
The burden of guilt
“I heard the discharge of a pistol behind me, and, looking round, saw through the smoke a man between the door and the president... As he went over upon the stage, I cried out, ‘Stop that man. I then turned to the president; his position was not changed; his head was slightly bent forward and his eyes were closed.”
Security
To the Ages
Lincoln died the next morning, his assassin’s bullet lodged in his head. Mary retreated back to life with her sons in Illinois, and was institutionalized 10 years later after her plans to commit suicide were
— Kevin Franklin, Colonie Town Historian
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Post Office with presidential roots Building was a church and Chester A. Arthur’s father was the preacher
COLONIE — The little brick U.S. Post Office on Route 9 still closes at noontime so the lone clerk can take a lunch. The building is owned and maintained by the town and is rented to the U.S. Postal Service for $1,451 a month. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and walking through the door is like stepping back in time. Even in the building’s latest use, it still has the old fashioned post office boxes with the combination locks rather than the newer models secured with a key. The clerk of the last five years, Holly Sullivan, had to help one new customer out with working the locks of one of the boxes that line the narrow hallway separating the public area from
where she conducts postal business. “I’ve worked in a lot of offices, in fact I’ve worked in smaller offices over the years, and back in the olden days, when the streets weren’t as nice as now, it made since for every town to have its own post office,” she said. “I’m
Chester A. Arthur
amazed it’s actually still open. People ask all the time when it’s going to close but we are controlled by Congress and when they tied to close a lot of offices like this, ones that do not make money, Congress said ‘no, you can’t do that.’” Just a few miles away, on Watervliet Shaker Road, there is a huge, modern facility and another one in Colonie Center and another one on New Karner Road. But, said Maureen Marion, a spokeswoman for the USPS, geographic location is just one factor that goes into determining where a post office branch is located. “Typically, there are smaller post offices that have historic significance with a small ‘h’ and by that I mean Washington didn’t mail letters there but
The Newtonville Post Office on Loudon Road. that they have been part of a community for a number of years,” she said. “They were, and in some cases still are, strategically located along busy roadways or where there is foot traffic so to have these smaller post offices and have other post offices nearby is not uncommon.” The building at 534 Loudon Road, or the “old road from
Jim Franco / Spotlight News Albany to Saratoga” does has a storied history. It was built in 1852 on the land of John Newton who with his family settled there in around 1840. He built a house and a general store and then a Baptist Church. The inscription above the post office door, which is obscured by decades of Northeast weather and was at one time cemented
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Presidential Post Office over, reads, “First Baptist Church, Newtonville, Organized 1849, erected 1852. Builders – J.H. Lockrow , I Waterman.” President Chester A. Arthur’s father lived in Newtonville from 1855 to 1863 and was a preacher at the church during those years, according to a 1972 application to the U.S.
Department of the Interior, a division of the National Parks Service requesting the building be added to the National Registry of Historic Places. He and his family lived in a house down the road at what is now 574 Loudon Road. It was built in about 1846 and where Arthur Sr. ran a private boys school out of
The inside of the Newtonville Post Office. Jim Franco / Spotlight News
the home. “During the latter half of the 19th century the use of the building as a church was discontinued, and it was adapted to use as a school, bus garage, farm machinery sales office and for the past thirty years a post office,” according to the document provided by Colonie Historian Kevin Franklin. “Originally, the simple church of a newly organized and short-lived congregation, the Newtonville Post Office has withstood many tests of time with remarkable architectural
integrity,” according to the surroundings are showing its age — the Newtonville Post Office 1972 document. “One hundred is a busy place, and does offer years ago it was the center of the same services as the larger an isolated rural community outlets. and today it is considered a little grace note in a heavily “When [Siena] college is in suburbanized setting.” session, and if you come here at Christmas time there will be a Inside, there is nothing left line out the door,” Sullivan said. of the original church and the “Everything they take over the exterior has been modified over counter at the large office I can the years. For example, there were large overhead doors on two do here, right across the board. Your boxes up to 70 pounds, sides cut into the brick when it all the different services, your was a machinery shop and the priorities, your express your wood shingles covered in metal global internationals.” was replaced with red cedar Just don’t bother coming at shingles and have since been lunch time. replaced with asphalt. A concrete facing has been poured over the original fieldstone and the concrete slab on grade is covered with wood. Some of the original brick has been patched with plaster. Despite its relatively small size and just one service The plaque on the front of the Newtonville Post window with one clerk — and the fact Office. Jim Franco / Spotlight News the building and
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It’s a whole new ballgame Siena College is treading on a new frontier in competitive collegiate sports — eSports
By DIEGO CAGARA cagarad@spotlightnews.com
Diego Cagara / Spotlight News
LOUDONVILLE — Video gaming has previously been seen as a leisure activity or hobby, but Siena College has changed that mindset and taken it more seriously, after having established its new eSports team this past year. “This is the future right here,” said Dennis Bates, the college’s Associate Director of Finance and Operations. “Gaming is the future.” His words rang true as Newszoo, the leading supplier of gaming and eSports data, has revealed in its latest quarterly 2018 Global eSports Market Report that the eSports industry would hit $906 million in global revenues by the end of the year, a major increase from 2017’s $655 million. Factors include media rights, advertising, sponsorship, game publisher fees and merchandise. North America has also been projected to generate around $335 million or 37 percent of global eSports revenues. China takes up 19 percent with $172 million and South Korea is 6 percent with $54 million, while the rest of the world is at 38 percent with $344 million.
2019 is projected to be the year that global revenues reach over $1 billion. Meanwhile, video games like Fortnite and League of Legends have also become cultural phenomena and commercial breakthroughs. Bates added that Siena has invested around $10,000 into its eSports team, which he said “sounds like a lot but not really when compared to other schools. I think I heard Canisius College got $60,000.” Despite this minimal investment, he expressed gratitude that the team has made the most of it, having been given a board meeting room, a row of high-tech gaming computers and a banner, all located through one hallway at the campus’ Marcelle Athletic Complex. Junior student Joel Madru, the eSports student manager and one of the first team members himself, said that this closely-knit setup “is great for practice and once everyone’s here, we’re locked in, ready to go. It also helps build that sense of team and community because we’re all down here playing together.” The hallway used to be a racquetball court and Bates revealed that he hopes to expand to a bigger space elsewhere in the complex or on campus for the eSports team, with more branding. The team also hopes to make use of Twitch, an online streaming service, with TV screens to stream games to make their eSports space more engaging and interactive.
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ECAC competition schedule, and would face fellow institutions like Marist College, SUNY Canton and Cayuga Community College. However, the team is neither a club nor The team’s origins dated back to around a Division I program, so it’s technically not immediately open to everybody—“It’s kind this past February, when the Eastern of in that limbo grey area right now.” He College Athletic Conference and the would like to further formalize the team Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and its recruitment process in the near wanted to organize a tournament in future. Albany for eSports, according to Bates. This resulted in the inaugural ECAC Meanwhile, Madru has continued to eSports Invitational at the Albany handpick more members. Capital Center on Mar. 1—as part of the “You can look up player profiles online MAAC Basketball Championships Fan to see what they’re proficient at, how much Fest—which included panel discussions they have played certain games or their on intercollegiate eSports and an actual kill-death ratio,” Madru said, explaining League of Legends tournament. one way he scouts for the team. “There’s Bates had to grassroots market eSports this website called op.gg where you can do to the overall Siena campus prior to that, that.” with help from Madru, and they eventually Madru said this eSports team can help gathered a team of five student members students make friends, spend their time within a few weeks. This team then went to and feel more comfortable at Siena, which that invitational but lost to Marist in the could ideally lead to a higher college tournament. retention rate. It’s also another way to Today, that team, now with 14 represent, promote and support Siena, as members, has grown into two factions: an well as exude school spirit. undefeated 5-0 A squad which competes “I love to compete, I played games in in weekly League of Legends, and a B high school, and I played varsity regular squad that scrimmages other universities’ B athletics, golf and baseball,” Madru said. squads to improve their rankings. “And I just have this competitive nature For this fall season’s ECAC eSports in me where I like to win and compete competition which began in October, cooperatively with a team. So, when this Bates said the team had received an official opportunity—for an eSports team here
It’s a whole new ballgame
and to play League of Legends which I already enjoyed—came, that was it.” He revealed that growing up, he was a huge fan of Nintendo games like Pokemon and Mario Kart. As he got older, he welcomed games like Halo, Call of Duty and especially League of Legends, which he said was introduced to by a high school friend. A major strategy he uses when playing is to “always communicate with your team. If you don’t, then it’s just five people playing the same game. If you’re communicating and talking to your team, then it’s much easier to make plays and work with them. It’s also important to keep a level head when playing because you hear a lot about players getting upset or mad, or even pro-gamers smashing their controllers. People do get compassionate and can get upset during games. But when you’re frustrated, you’re not playing at your best.” Bates, who revealed that he did not know much about eSports prior to this team’s establishment, also embraced it for expanding Siena’s footprint in intercollegiate competitions and gaming throughout the Northeast. He added that eSports can further create a more inclusive campus community and can “make for a well-rounded individual.” However, the program lacks a formal operating budget and Siena does not offer eSports college
scholarships, at least for now. “But having programs like this helps with recruitment when looking into interested high school graduates who are deciding on which college to attend,” Bates said. “If a student is really into eSports and wants to continue that into their college years and be part of a team, then we hopefully want that to be part of the decision-making for a student one day, much like joining a lacrosse, basketball or soccer team.” While the eSports team is undergoing the fall competitive season now, its future ambitions remain bold as it plans to compete in its spring season, and attend the Hudson Valley GamerCon, the biggest Northeastern collegiate eSports event, on Mar. 30 and 31, 2019 at the Albany Capital Center. Looking ahead, Madru wants parents to encourage their children if they’re interested in eSports or video gaming, “as long as they get their schoolwork and stuff around the house done. There is possibly a future for them, like getting scholarships for college.” “I’ve always also encouraged kids who enjoy games like Fortnite or League of Legends or FIFA to follow their passion and do what they love,” he concluded. “Let them play.”
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