Frost Arena renovation

Despite the men’s and women’s basketball teams recording 130 wins at Frost Arena the past five years, changes are planned for the facility. However, those changes aren’t planned to disrupt the Jackrabbits’ success at their home venue, they’re designed to improve the student-athlete and fan experience, according to Justin Sell, South Dakota State’s athletic director.

“We’re marching along very nicely with the 2025 Master Plan for Athletics Facilities as we’ve completed the SJAC (Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex) and are nearing completion on the Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, so we’re now able to move to Frost Arena,” Sell said. “When you look at the age of the facility and the fact we’ve nearly maximized season ticket sales in the chairback seats, we need to do something.

“We want to be able to do some things that will create a great experience for our fans but yet want to keep the feel and warmth of Frost Arena,” he continued. “When we talk about renovating it, we’re not going to make wholesale changes but we will add some of the amenities that will make it more enjoyable and add restrooms and concessions around the entire seating area.

Sell and others submitted a preliminary facility statement at the South Dakota Board of Regents’ May meeting in hopes of developing a building committee and eventually hiring an architect.

Once those steps are completed, various costs determined and renderings have been reviewed and approved, Sell will return to the Board of Regents in October. If it gives the go-ahead, the goal is to get the renovation project approved by the South Dakota Legislature and the governor’s signature so ground could be broken in 2017.

“The key elements of this building project are a Frost Arena renovation and the addition of basketball practice courts,” Sell said. The practice courts would be located south of Frost Arena.

However, it doesn’t stop there. A practice wrestling facility, which would have area for three mats, is part of the project and would be located east of Frost. Also included are changes to the athletic department offices, the pool complex and locker rooms.

“We have a really good amount of square footage on the lower level,” Sell said, noting he and his staff are looking at ways to determine if that space could be arranged differently for better use. “I think the best part of this plan will be to create team rooms, locker rooms and medical space that will enhance the student-athlete experience. I’m really excited about that.”

Sell said various infrastructure pieces will need to be done, too. One piece yet to be determined is will the construction create a new main entrance for fans to Frost Arena?

Similar to the Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium project, plans are for this project to take place over two years as Frost Arena will still hold home events. If everything goes as planned, construction on the practice areas would start in spring 2017. Following the Jackrabbits’ 2017-18 basketball seasons, the remodeling of Frost Arena would start. The goal is to have a renovated Frost Arena and practice facility completed in fall 2018.

“It’s important to know we’ll create it in a way that, much like the Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, we’ll have sections and seats for everybody. We want everyone to have an opportunity to come,” he continued. “We’re open to families, the SDSU faculty and staff and various events like military appreciation. We’ll also take care of students because they make a huge impact on the gameday environment.”

Matt Schmidt