EAST LANSING, MICH. — The Michigan State University Board of Trustees has authorized the administration to begin a planning study to construct a new venue at the corner of Harrison and Trowbridge roads in East Lansing. The project involves the construction of a new hotel and retail space along with an athletics arena on 14 acres of vacant land on the west side of campus. The arena will support volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics, and will feature locker rooms, coaching office space and university classrooms. The hotel and retail space would be part of a public-private partnership between the university and the chosen developer. The authorization by the board enables the university to initiate the forma bidding process for potential developers before moving into the Request for Proposal period in the coming weeks.
Additionally, the board voted to authorize construction of a new $200 million Plant and Environmental Sciences Building. The 200,000-square-foot facility, located at the corner of Farm Lane and Wilson Road, will provide critical laboratory space for approximately 40 principal investigators and their teams researching food security and climate adaptation. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall, with completion slated for December 2026.