A bold new front for Spartan Stadium
Features year-round recruiting center for all sports
December 17, 2013
Spartan Stadium will have a greater presence on the MSU campus by the fall of 2014 and become an asset for the entire athletics program, thanks to the generosity of donors who have made their gifts through the Spartan Fund.
Construction is already underway for a multi-million dollar upgrade that will transform the North End of the stadium with a striking two-story addition. Much like other improvements to MSU’s athletics facilities in recent years, the project is being funded with private support.
A recruitment center is the showpiece of the project and will become the linchpin for all of athletics, available to MSU’s entire coaching staff for recruiting student-athletes in every sport throughout the year.
The addition will also house a media center and event space for campus-wide use, new football locker rooms and team spaces, additional restroom and concession areas for fans, a donor plaza and renovated entry gates.
“The North End Zone expansion will be a tremendous asset to MSU and Spartan Athletics,” says Mark Hollis, athletics director. “We are so grateful for the donors who have stepped up to help make this facility a reality. The new locker room, media center and recruiting room are all difference-makers for our program.”
The MSU Board of Trustees approved a resolution that names the northeast wing of the project in recognition of the Demmer family who have donated $3.5 million for the project. The board also resolved to name the two entrance plazas on the north side of Spartan Stadium in honor of Craig and Vicki Brown, who donated $2 million to the project. The plazas will be named the Craig and Vicki Brown Family Northeast Plaza and the Craig and Vicki Brown Family Northwest Plaza.
The Demmers and the Browns join many other donors in financial support for the program, including Earvin “Magic” and Earleatha Johnson, Bob (’74, Business) and Julie Skandalaris, Mark (’85, Communication Arts and Sciences) and Nancy (’86, Business) Hollis, Tom (’01, Education) and Lupe Izzo, Ben (’69, Engineering) and Barbara (’69, Natural Science) Maibach, John (’77, Social Science) and Mary Rayis, Pete (’88, Communication Arts and Sciences) and Ann (’87, Communication Arts and Sciences) Eardley, Kellie (’76 and ’81, Education) and Marilyn (’75 and ’81, Social Science) Dean, and Steve (’71, Business) and Brenda (’71, Social Science) Ramsby.
More than $15 million has been raised for the project, but attractive naming opportunities still exist including for the home and away team locker rooms, as well as a locker campaign for gifts of $50,000 and inclusion in a central donor exhibit for gifts of $100,000.
A history of giving:
The role of private support for athletics facilities is a growing part of MSU’s formula for success. Recent facilities built with private support include: the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center (1998), the Alfred Berkowitz Basketball Complex (2001), the Rearick Golf Facility (2004), the Skandalaris Football Center (2008), the Demmer family Hall of History (2008) in the Skandalris Center, Perles Plaza (2008) outside the Duffy Daugherty Football Building, the DeMartin Soccer Complex (2008), McLane Baseball Stadium (2009) and the Secchia Stadium for softball (2011). Pentecost Plaza (2012) marks the entrance of Old College Field.
Learn more about how these facilities came to be, and how, collectively, they make MSU’s athletic facilities some of the best in the nation at msuspartans.com/facilities.
