A crowd feeds a fire on Waters Edge Dr. on Dec. 8, 2013, after MSU’s Big Ten Championship game. There were multiple reports of fires throughout East Lansing after the game.
The chaotic aftermath of the Big Ten Championship celebration in East Lansing caused thousands of dollars in property damage at Cedar Village, according to DTN Management Co. Vice President Colin Cronin.
Early estimates indicate between $5,000 and $10,000 in damage was caused by revelers following the football team’s win against Ohio State. Cronin said the damage was mostly centralized to Cedar Village and predominantly includes damage to trees and other landscaping items.
East Lansing police and fire units responded to 57 reported fires and made 15 arrests in the aftermath of MSU’s win. Fisheries and wildlife senior Steven Ridley also had his car flipped over in the Milford Arms parking lot on Milford Street.
“It’s scary when someone looks outside their window and there is a 20 or 30 foot fire,” said Cronin, who was with police in Cedar Village that night. “We were there working with police trying to make sure that residents were safe in their buildings.”
Cronin said DTN will continue to do estimates, but doesn’t think they will find much more damage on their end.
“A lot of the damage in Cedar Village was located away from our properties,” he said. “Mostly the students were doing things in the street, so that’s where a lot of the damage is.”
Cronin said the scariest part of the night was when students began to try to light a large DTN banner on the side of one of the complexes on fire.
“That’s where we would have seen property damage,” he said. “I was thinking ‘Well, that’s really stupid.’”
Police are offering a $20,000 reward for anyone to come forward with information regarding the event and tips that could lead to arrests of anyone involved.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
