Thursday, March 28, 2024

Board increases Duffy budget

October 30, 2007

This is a rendering of what the Duffy Daugherty football building Football Building will look like after renovations are complete.

The last time an MSU football team played in a Rose Bowl game was under coach George Perles.

Fittingly, an addition to the Duffy Daugherty Football Building will be donned with roses along the front as a tribute to MSU Trustee Perles’ donation and coaching legacy.

“In the front is a rose garden,” said Greg Ianni, associate athletics director for facilities and sports management. “That signifies (Perles’ success) and everything we do and everything coach Dantonio is pointing for is going back to a Rose Bowl. That’s the epitome for us.”

The MSU Board of Trustees voted Friday to increase the budget for the Daugherty project from $14.6 million to $17.6 million to accommodate George and Sally Perles Plaza as well as an expanded weight room facility. The $3 million increase ($2 million for the weight room and $1 million for the plaza) are funded by gifts and the athletics department.

According to the board recommendation, the project is expected to increase pedestrian circulation and open the views between West Shaw Lane and Chestnut Road.

“If you’ve been by that site, it’s a very mundane place,” Ianni said. “You drive by it and don’t reflect on it. There’s a lot of foot traffic by students, and this hopefully will give them an urban gathering place to use.”

Ianni added that the outdoor portion of the plaza will feature an extension of the corridor that runs the length of the building imitating a football field with 5- and 1-yard markers.

“We’ve had an interesting challenge to find the right materials, but we’ve identified those, and we think it’s going to look pretty spectacular,” he said.

MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said the plaza also provides an opportunity for a hall of fame dedication.

Fred Poston, vice president for finance and operations, said the university can save money by tacking on the additional projects while construction is already in progress.

A second resolution from the board was to consider all new construction in the Daugherty building under the title of “Skandalaris Football Center,” in tribute to donations from Bob and Julie Skandalaris.

For Perles, it’s an honor to be associated with Daugherty, who was Perles’ mentor for years.

“I played for him and was an assistant coach for him,” Perles said. “He helped me get every position I’ve had.”

The weight room facilities will grow by 6,500 square feet but will not change the exterior of the building. Rather, it will extend the structure south along the indoor football facility, Ianni said.

“It will not inhibit the use by our football team (during renovation) and by a number of our Olympic sports who also use this weight room for conditioning,” Ianni said.

Weight room renovations are expected to take place from late March until October of 2008.

“We’re behind and we won’t be when we’re finished with this project,” Perles said of the MSU facilities.

“It seems like every 20-25 years, you have to do more upgrading. These kids that you recruit, the only thing you can offer them is a scholarship and facilities.”

The one thing the plan didn’t provide is the board’s requirement for a piece of art in conjuncture with new construction.

Perles’ recommendation for a potential statue: “Duffy.”

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