Construction and skilled trades workers are putting in 7-day work weeks preparing the Breslin Student Events Center for the return of students later this month.
Phase one of the $50 million renovation project – which focuses on facilities improvements and adding 26,000 square feet of space around the stadium - is about 50% complete, according to Jason VanZee, a construction project manager for Michigan State University.
“Exterior site work and the majority of the interior work on the northern entrances will be done before convocation on (Aug.) 29,” he said.
A complete overhaul of the former Gate D entrance to the Breslin will be the most obvious change for returning students. The entryway has been extended outward toward the intersection of Kalamazoo and Harrison, creating greater space between the entrance and ticket takers. The concourse area around the stadium is also being widened by 15 feet as part of the project, with large brick sections jutting from the main structure.
All entryways will be renamed to correspond with the nearest street as part of the project.
The Breslin will also be a much brighter venue, VanZee said, thanks to the addition of LED lighting and panes of glass along the concourse wall. The number of bathrooms is being nearly doubled and the number of concession stands will grow to 10 from six once the project is completed. The number of seats inside the venue, about 15,000, won't change with the improvements.
New graphics of locations across campus as well as terrazzo Spartan helmets – a material formed with chips of marble or granite polished smooth – at each of the entrances will be in place by the start of the 2016-17 basketball season, VanZee said.
"We're bringing everything together that says campus and the entire student body, not just athletics," he added.
The $30 million price tag of phase one is coming from student fees that date back more than two decades. Two southern entrances will still be open during the basketball season while construction is ongoing.
Work on phase two of the project — the 33,000 square-foot Hall of History exhibit — is about 10% complete, VanZee said. The $20 million designated for phase two is coming from the MSU Athletic Department. The exhibit will chronicle MSU’s rise to prominence within college basketball and is expected to be finished by August 2017.
A statue of MSU basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson, was moved earlier this summer as part of phase two construction. The 93-ton statue will be moved to its final resting place outside the Hall of History once the project is closer to completion.
MSU had already raised about half of the $20 million phase two price tag before it announced the project in October 2015, Deputy Athletic Director Greg Ianni said at the time.
"Funding is ongoing and has been very successful," he said Friday.
Ianni said he was unable to say how much has been raised since the project was unveiled, but the department hopes to make announcements about "potentially significant contributions" later this year.
The new weight room housed below the Hall of History will be named after Draymond Green following his $3.1 million donation last year.
The Breslin Center was first opened in 1989 and cost about $45 million to build. It's undergone several renovations in the years since, including the addition of auxiliary gyms and office space in 2001.
