Rose Arena renovation is halfway completed, on schedule for basketball season
Expansion of the new $21.5 million events center at Rose Arena is running on schedule.
“We’re 50 percent complete,” said Steve Lawrence, associate Vice President for facilities management.
Lawrence said the first goal is to have the arena completed in time for the first basketball game in December and the second goal is to have the Student Activities Center expansion finished by February 2011. Construction began last October.
Lawrence said concrete is being poured on the concourse level of the arena and the electrical rough is being installed. Walls will be sealed once the rough is complete.
He also said the structural steel for the stairways and the east club room in the concourse is being placed and blocks are being laid for concession stands and restrooms. Within the next week, brick will be seen on the exterior of the building, he said.
“I think that people are interested in seeing this new venue with all the changes and maybe there will be a possibility for new events that will definitely draw people in,” Mount Pleasant freshman Kaylee Harless said.
Lawrence said the expansion will be beneficial to sports teams, events and summer camps.
“The arena will now have two basketball courts available for summer camps,” he said.
Derek van der Merwe, senior associate athletic director, said every seat will be enhanced. On the lower bowl, seat backs and bottoms will be cushioned.
A second tier of around 1,000 seats will also be added with cushioned bottom seating and plastic backing. New contoured balcony seats will have a lot of space around them, van der Merwe said.
“The entire university will benefit from the new event center,” van der Merwe said. “We have designed the spaces in the event center to be flexible and open to allow for multi-purpose use.”
He said the lobby will be used for banquets and the club lounge area for convenient meetings and social gatherings.
The practice gym will be used by teams and for space for any university sponsored events, said van der Merwe.
The new collegiate-level arena will have an intimate wrap around bowl effect, Lawrence said.
“Space was pretty limited before, so the expansion will allow for bigger ‘names’ brought to Central,” said Kendall Boyle, a West Bloomfield junior. “Hopefully, that will draw larger crowds.”
