Michigan State to Add New Sports Arena
Michigan State University has continued to search for ways to keep up with other athletic departments in the increasingly competitive Big Ten. The school has analyzed numerous ways to help take its athletics to the next level in a world of college athletics built around enticing and paying the best athletes in any respective sport.
Michigan State wants to add significant mixed-use development to its portfolio to further its economic impact and boost the athletic department's future. On Friday, the school's Board of Trustees approved plans to build a new sports arena, which will be located south of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.
The arena will seat 4,000 fans and will be home to sports that would normally have competed in Jenison Field House -- volleyball, wrestling, gymnastics, etc. As required by the Big Ten, the arena would host many events, including regional competitions.
Michigan State President Kevin Guskiewicz believes the project will be a productive move for the university and the athletic program. Guskiewicz said the development will help Michigan State accomplish its long-term goals.
"I am confident that this visionary project will transform this space into a dynamic hub of activity and innovation," Guskiewicz said. "This multipurpose development, which will public-private partnership, is a bold step toward fulfilling our mission as a passionately public university."
The arena can set Michigan State apart from other schools in the conference as it looks to improve the university and the athletic program in the future. In collegiate athletics, the minor details could lead to a recruit in a particular sport choosing one school over another.
While Michigan State Athletics unquestionably has to catch up on the conference and national levels and needs as much help on the Name, Image, and Likeness front as possible, help can come in other forms, such as the arena the university approved.
As collegiate athletics have significantly changed over the last few years, Michigan State Athletics has fallen behind nationally. Still, it aims to return to its former place as one of the premier schools in collegiate athletics.
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EZEKIEL TREZEVANT
Ezekiel is a former Sports Editor from the Western Herald and former Atlanta Falcons beat writer.