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Board of Trustees approve renovation plans for a Hall of History at Breslin Center

October 30, 2015

The Breslin Student Events Center — a staple of MSU sports and student involvement — is on track to receive some much-needed updates to its facilities.

The MSU Board of Trustees voted Friday morning to give the university the funds to begin the renovation of Breslin and the creation of the Hall of History, a tribute to MSU basketball's finest. 

The $50 million project will have $30 million provided by the university to go towards the facilities' updates and MSU Athletics will raise $20 million to construct the new addition. $10 million has already been raised for the Hall of History project.

The project work is set to begin in Jan. 2016 with nearly all completion expected in Aug. 2017 before the fall semester begins. The final completion, mainly the Hall of History, will be expected to be completed by June 2018.

The improvements would include changes to the concourses and concession areas, bathrooms, elevators and exterior entrances.

"It's all the stuff that you need to just keep the building going," Vice President for Auxiliary Enterprises Vennie Gore said. "What I think most people will see outside is the expanded concourse, it's for safety." 

Gore said the Phase 1 improvements will update the building for it to last the next 50 years and serve as a representation of university facilities.

Phase 2, the Hall of History, would create a 26,000-square-foot addition located on the southeast side of Breslin, behind the statue of Earvin "Magic" Johnson. The technological update will highlight past successes of Spartan Basketball from championships to individual accomplishments.  

"The Hall of History will celebrate Spartan basketball and that will serve as a major entry way into the building and it will be there and go back on history," Gore said.

In a release provided by MSU athletics, men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo added that the Hall of History will celebrate MSU's rich basketball tradition.

"What excites me about these renovations is that there really is something for everyone," Izzo said. "Jaws will drop when fans enter the Hall of History. Current student-athletes will benefit from the new weight room. Former players will enjoy a locker room reserved just for them. And the entire package should really excite recruits." 

Another addition, the Draymond Green Strength and Conditioning Center will be accessible from both gyms on the mezzanine level of the Breslin. The expansion will serve as a locker room for MSU Basketball alumni to utilize in their off-seasons. 

"This is an old facility," President Lou Anna K. Simon said. "It is almost 30 years old, it needs to be upgraded with the bond becoming available then we can do these upgrades without adding any additional cost burden to students or to the community."

Simon said these upgrades are needed now so that the facility can last for another 30 years.

"It is important from the perspective of celebration," Simon added. "This would be an area that is accessible to the public and unlike Skandalaris (Football Center) it would be video based so that the stories can be told differently and be ever, ever green."

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