Like many others, Sparty can't stand the traffic on campus.
Or stand in it, rather.
"The Spartan" statue, mostly known as "Sparty," which stood in the middle of Kalamazoo Street, Red Cedar Road and Chestnut Road, was moved Wednesday afternoon to the lobby of the Spartan Stadium addition, much to the chagrin of some students and faculty.
"We've been talking about fixing this intersection as long as I've been here," said Dennis Hansen, a site construction superintendent for Campus Park & Planning. "Our goal is to provide safety for pedestrians and certainly vehicles."
Hansen said the intersection is confusing to visitors because three major roads converge, and many people aren't sure which driver has the right of way.
In the $425,000 project, the island where the statue originally stood will be taken out, and a Y-shaped, three-way stop will be created in its place. A bronze copy of the original Sparty will be put in the middle of the resulting plaza at the north end of Demonstration Field.
Jeff Kacos, director of Campus Planning and Administration, said the move has been in the works for two years, but fund raising for the project was not complete until last summer.
The terra-cotta material that Sparty is made from is fragile and can't last in the weather much longer, Hansen said.
In November, workers accidentally peeled off a protective coating on the statue while making a mold for the bronze cast. Hansen said that while Sparty was being repaired after the mold was made, water was found in the core. If the water froze, the statue could have cracked and broken apart.
The move was an opportune time not only to protect the statue from deteriorating but to repair utilities underneath the intersection and restructure the surface, Hansen said.
The move was paid for by donations from different MSU groups, including the Student Alumni Foundation, the Council of Graduate Students and ASMSU. Other contributions came as private gifts from individual supporters and other alumni clubs.
"There are many, many contributions from alumni clubs around the world," said Karen Wenk, director of development for Campus Park & Planning.
The rest of the money was drawn from general funds given by the state of Michigan, free of tax. These will mostly be used for the road and utility work, Hansen said.
Kacos said about $525,000 was raised for the project.
The move cost about $38,000, and about $387,000 will go toward creating the bronze cast and roadwork. The remaining $100,000 and future monetary gifts will be set aside in an endowment fund that will go toward the maintenance of both the terra-cotta and bronze statues.
"People are still contributing, even though we exceeded our goal," Wenk said.
Kacos said visitors will be able to take pictures with the statue more easily and without going into the street.
The MSU marching band will also be able to continue its tradition of filing by the statue, now more easily.
Wenk said the bronze statue will be exactly like the terra-cotta original, and this was done for the benefit of students and visitors.
"This is hugely important for Spartans everywhere," she said. "People don't want to see Sparty move."
Once completed, the stadium addition will be open to the public. Wenk said it was a major concern for planners to make the original Sparty available.
Lori Post, director of Interdisciplinary Research and Outreach, said moving the original Sparty to the stadium was a bad idea.
"They shouldn't have moved it," she said. "It becomes a football-centered icon instead of a university thing."
No-preference sophomore Denise Lator said it was good to move the statue because the intersection is busy and confusing.
"It'd be cool to keep it where it was," she said. "It'll be a lot safer. It's kind of crazy walking in there."
The intersection is expected to be finished by mid-August. A rededication ceremony will be held for the bronze statue in October.
Lindsey Poisson can be reached at poisson4@msu.edu.
