I see that I do not know that sophomores could live off-campus. Back in the old days if you were not from the Lansing area you had to live in the dorms or a "Greek House" for the first two years. Does MSU have the housing capacity for this? I have not seen any "dorms" being built just the new housing near Kalamazoo. Are the rooms nicer than before? I remember basically cinderblock walls two beds, two desks, and one window! I never lived in one just visited. I never thought gee, I wished I lived in a dorm, I hope they are offering a better situation today.
Yes, MSU has had the sophomore year policy but stopped enforcing it in the 80's. The dorms do have capacity for this. I think I read in one of the articles about 50% of sophomores already live on capacity (which limits the affect to off-campus housing), and it is possible that MSU sees smaller incoming freshmen classes than previous years, especially in the short term as many students may consider taking a gap year until the pandemic is fully over. It will probably be a long time until we reach 70% vaccination (one measure of "herd immunity") considering there are lots of people that are skeptical of the vaccine or vaccines in general.
Now, this is an impressive building! One of the best things was using the old coal fire power plant building, this feature really makes the building "feel like" MSU.
According to one of the MSU sports commentators the new football facility will break ground as soon as the season is over, I'm not sure about the timeline on the other facilities. I really like the proposed renovations to Jenison but just about everything proposed is great for the university and area in general.
This is a great thing to hear about. Of course to me [absent 35 yrs.] the "old football building" seems new, so it would seem they need more and improved space. It is great to see that other spots are included in these plans. I have wondered about the outdoor pool at the former "Men's IM" that has been closed for some time. I believe it was a pool built in the late '50s for an international sports event[the Pan American Games?], I could be wrong about that, but they used to keep the outdoor pool open all summer and if you were attending summer term you could use the pool. There was a nice grass 'beach" and you could even go off the high dive if you were brave enough. I wasn't. I had heard they were cutting swimming and diving from varsity sports for some reason, but it would be nice if students and the community could use those pools.
I think the fate of that pool at IM is up in the air, MSU had announced they were going to drop swimming sports after the 2020-2021 season but I'm not sure if they followed through with that or if it was supposed to be a permanent move. That being said I do know after students raised some concerns about deficiencies with the IM buildings a few years ago the university made some commitments to make some major improvements and I don't think they've implemented any of the major changes yet so who knows what will happen there.
A couple things from MSU today: They announced planning has officially begun for a new IM West replacement that will be built south of Shaw between Birch and Harrison. They have no cost estimates as of now and they expect planning to take about a year. They also announced the construction of two new artificial turf fields along with two support buildings on Service Dr, they don't say where but I think this will be on the open space on the north side of Service across from the medical complex.
Also, Fox47 is reporting that MSU will be issuing $500 million in 100 year bonds to fund ongoing improvements, it obviously won't have any immediate effects but over time it should mean more investment at MSU.
EDIT: Apparently the board also approved the planning for upgrades to Spartan Stadium. They're being very vague about exactly what is being upgraded but it sounds like at minimum they're talking about bathrooms, ramps, concessions and behind the scenes stuff. They do say premium seating is possible but I don't imagine they mean another tower at this point although if the studies come back and say they can lease the units I'm sure they'd consider it. Responding to what extent of work will be done the facilities guy is quoted as saying: “As we tear things apart, sometimes it’s better to make the improvements while we put it back together. So, as part of the design process, we’re going to look at where could we put premium seating and does it make sense from a financial and fan perspective.”
I read the other day that the first phase of the new Tom Izzo Football Building was approved and will begin construction immediately. This first phase is slated to cost $11 million will include a new lobby, dining area and locker rooms along with renovating or expanding other facilities. Renderings from MSU construction projects site: https://ipf.msu.edu/construction/current-projects/football-complex-renovation-and-addition
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Here's a longer video presentation:
According to one of the MSU sports commentators the new football facility will break ground as soon as the season is over, I'm not sure about the timeline on the other facilities. I really like the proposed renovations to Jenison but just about everything proposed is great for the university and area in general.
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2021/12/17/msu-planning-turf-recreation-fields-health-and-fitness-center/8944232002/
https://statenews.com/article/2021/12/trustees-approve-tucker-contract-extension-new-health-center-plans?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_latest
Also, Fox47 is reporting that MSU will be issuing $500 million in 100 year bonds to fund ongoing improvements, it obviously won't have any immediate effects but over time it should mean more investment at MSU.
https://www.fox47news.com/neighborhoods/msu-campus/michigan-state-university-plans-to-issue-500-million-in-century-bonds
EDIT: Apparently the board also approved the planning for upgrades to Spartan Stadium. They're being very vague about exactly what is being upgraded but it sounds like at minimum they're talking about bathrooms, ramps, concessions and behind the scenes stuff. They do say premium seating is possible but I don't imagine they mean another tower at this point although if the studies come back and say they can lease the units I'm sure they'd consider it. Responding to what extent of work will be done the facilities guy is quoted as saying: “As we tear things apart, sometimes it’s better to make the improvements while we put it back together. So, as part of the design process, we’re going to look at where could we put premium seating and does it make sense from a financial and fan perspective.”
https://www.mlive.com/spartans/2021/12/mel-tuckers-contract-extension-officially-approved-and-spartan-stadium-upgrades-planned.html
I read the other day that the first phase of the new Tom Izzo Football Building was approved and will begin construction immediately. This first phase is slated to cost $11 million will include a new lobby, dining area and locker rooms along with renovating or expanding other facilities. Renderings from MSU construction projects site:
https://ipf.msu.edu/construction/current-projects/football-complex-renovation-and-addition
Also, MSU posted a preliminary rendering and floorplans of an impressive new IM facility to go on Harrison south of Shaw:
https://ipf.msu.edu/construction/current-projects/health-wellness-and-fitness-center