Subject - Athletic Facilities
MSU athletes compete and perform in a number of athletic facilities, past and present, from the Armory and Jenison Fieldhouse to College Field and Spartan Stadium.The Armory, completed in 1886, was originally the only sports facility for indoor team competitions, in addition to gymnastics, boxing, wrestling and other sports, plus other non-sports activities, such as drill hall and ballroom. In 1930 Demonstration Hall was inaugurated, only to be replaced by Jenison Field house, built in 1939, with a seating capacity of 10,000. For five decades Jenison was the arena for basketball and other indoor sports. In the mid 1980s plans were underway to build a completely new sports arena for more than 30 million dollars. The new facility was expected to accommodate more than 15,000 spectators. Named after the university vice president, Jack Breslin, who had been a baseball, football and basketball star for MSU in the 1940s, the arena opened in the fall of 1989 at the cost of 43 million dollars. In 2000 right after the MSU Spartans basketball team won the National Championship, the university announced a $5.9 million addition to the Breslin Center.
On Saturday October 11, 1924 Michigan Agriculture College Stadium or "College Field" was dedicated, in a game where the Aggies faced the University of Michigan Wolverines. The state governor, the presidents of M.A.C. and U. of M. delivered inaugural speeches for the occasion. The stadium replaced the Old College Field and could accommodate 14,000 spectators. The original building has been practically rebuilt in three different occasions. In the first time -in 1935- its name was changed to Macklin Field, with renovations that increased fan capacity to 26,000. Thirteen years later, in 1948, the second rebuilding would take place, and the facility's name was changed to Macklin Stadium, with accommodation for 51,000 people. In 1956 the stadium underwent yet another significant transformation and became Spartan Stadium with capacity for 76,000 spectators.
The most recent expansion and renovations of Spartan Stadium were completed in 2005, including a new press box, luxury suites and new club seats. Besides the classic 1966 "Game of the Century" between Spartans and Fighting Irish, the stadium has witnessed many epic battles between Spartans and Big Ten rivals, and other national opponents. The stadium has consolidated a well earned reputation as one of the loudest football fields in the country. In 2001 Spartan Stadium hosted the "Cold War", a hockey match between Michigan and Michigan State, which ended in another tie, setting an attendance world record for ice hockey games (74,754).
Related Objects
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M.A.C. v. University of Michigan at M.A.C. Field, 1924 October 10, 1924 Image: jpg MSU Archives and Historical Collections |
Macklin Field - M.S.C. v. Kentucky, 1947 October 25, 1947 Image: jpg MSU Archives and Historical Collections | 
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Men work on the construction of Macklin Field, 1948 1948 Image: jpg MSU Archives and Historical Collections |
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