By Courtney Schmitz

When Mississippi State University (MSU) gave final approval for renovations to expand the premium seating options at Dudy Noble Field in the winter of 2024, the directive was clear: complete the upgrades in time for the highly anticipated home baseball series against in-state rival Ole Miss. With just six weeks from approval to completion, the turnaround time left little room for error.

A Flexible Seating Solution

University stakeholders sought to improve the game-day experience at the MSU Bulldogs’ home stadium, which holds the NCAA on-campus attendance record of 16,423. At the same time, they wanted to avoid committing to a static, single-use solution. The goal was to create a flexible solution that could deliver a strong return on investment while enhancing the game-day experience for a loyal fanbase that has supported the team and Dudy Noble Field for decades.

To meet these objectives, the university worked with Sightline, which offers the Flex Suite system, a modular premium seating solution designed for flexibility and scalability. Built on a forkliftable aluminum frame, the system is designed for rapid deployment, reconfiguration and transport, whether within a single venue or across campus. Delivered as fully assembled units, each section integrates platforms, railings and seating into a single structure, with customizable and optional features like signage, drink railing, TVs and fridges. This approach minimized on-site construction and enabled a faster installation without sacrificing functionality or quality.

An Enhanced Fan Experience

The team carefully chose materials and finishes that are durable enough to withstand outdoor conditions while blending seamlessly with the stadium’s existing structural elements. Custom fabrication capabilities allowed Sightline to incorporate tailored design elements in-house. A decorative speckled walking surface, custom cable railing and integrated drink rails contributed to a more premium environment while maintaining the system’s flexibility.

Additional enhancements further elevated the experience. Integrated drink rails with custom acrylic backsplashes and Di-Noc infill panels were installed to reinforce a cohesive, premium aesthetic. Despite the compressed timeline, the renovations were completed in time for the Ole Miss series, one of MSU’s most electric sporting events of the year, which the Bulldogs ultimately won.

Scaling and Evaluating the Solution

Based on the positive feedback from fans and university staff, MSU expanded the Flex Suite concept beyond its baseball facility. What began as a fast-track solution for Dudy Noble Field quickly proved its value as a cross-venue strategy. Flex Suite was later introduced to Humphrey Coliseum, home to the university’s men’s and women’s basketball teams. This transition from an outdoor stadium to an indoor arena highlighted the system’s adaptability.

Adapting the system for “the Hump” required targeted modifications to align with the venue’s layout. Additional infill platforms and step units were installed to ensure seamless integration within the arena, while a dedicated concessions area exclusive to the Flex Suite sections at Humphrey Coliseum allowed the university to offer a differentiated experience at an affordable price point.

This project also provided an opportunity to evaluate the system in real-world conditions. By observing fan interactions and gathering feedback during the baseball season, the team identified opportunities for refinement. Insights from Dudy Noble Field informed adjustments that further improved comfort and usability when the system was implemented at Humphrey Coliseum.

Looking Longterm

As colleges and universities continue investing in athletic facilities, balancing premium experiences with long-term flexibility is becoming increasingly important. Solutions like Flex Suite that can adapt across venues and evolving programs offer a strategic alternative to traditional fixed construction, which may be difficult or costly to modify in the future.

At Mississippi State University, what began as a time-sensitive installation evolved into a scalable model for premium seating across campus while also creating new revenue opportunities. Collaboration with university stakeholders enabled the team to deliver a solution that met immediate demands for the Ole Miss series while supporting future use across athletic programs.

Courtney Schmitz is Director of Sales at Sightline Commercial Solutions.

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STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State University (MSU) recently celebrating the topping out of Azalea Hall, the campus’ new five-story multipurpose building and its largest single building project to date. The milestone signifies that the hall’s building has reached its highest point, marking an important step in the construction process. ��

The $96 million hall, scheduled to open in time for the fall 2025 semester, will feature spaces for living, collaborating, studying and safety. The 159,000-square-foot facility will sit adjacent to the campus’ Old Main Academic Center in the heart of campus, expanding student access to indispensable services.��

“This project focuses on today’s college students’ needs and wants—to engage with one another, have more privacy and ignite their academic and social well-being,” said Dei Allard, MSU Housing and Residence Life executive director, in a statement. “The design provides optimal opportunities for student engagement and collaboration with one another, as well as the MSU community.” ��

More than 400 beds across single-room, pod-style housing units will be available to students. Azalea Hall residents will have access to shared bathrooms as well as common areas and amenities, including a social area and dining quarters on the first floor. Meeting spaces and classrooms on the ground level will double as FEMA-rated storm shelters to keep students and staff safe during inclement weather and potential natural disasters. ��

The indoor-outdoor dining area will offer a plethora of cuisine options as part of MSU’s updated vision for food services. Culinary choices will rotate throughout the year alongside food lockers and a marketplace for quick food pick up.��

“Bringing a dining venue to this area has long been a priority,” said Regina Hyatt, vice president for Student Affairs, in a statement. “Our new dining venue will not only provide easy access for our students, but it will also be a place where visitors and MSU employees can grab a meal.” ��

The residence hall will also host a living and learning community specifically for MSU’s Luckyday Scholars, a scholarship and community-building program for first-year students. The dedicated areas will include recreation and study areas, classrooms with adaptable seating and tables, a kitchenette and office space for the Luckyday Scholars director and program staff. The addition was made possible through a $4 million donation for Azalea Hall from the Luckyday Foundation of Jackson, Miss. ��

“We believe that having a dedicated space for Luckyday Scholars to hold classes, meetings, conversations and visits with Luckyday program staff is beneficial,” said Jamie Houston, Luckyday Foundation board chair, in a statement.��“A supportive, collaborative community is a core value of our program, and our freshman scholars will now be able to live together with the Luckyday Tower easily accessible.”��

Construction management for Azalea Hall is being led by Birmingham, Ala.-based HPM, with Gulfport, Miss.,-based Roy Anderson Corp. as the project builder. Jacksonville-based Wier Boerner Allin Architecture served as the lead architect alongside consulting architect Mackey Mitchell Architects of St. Louis. Tipton Associates of Baton Rouge, La., led design of the dining area. ��

With construction underway across vital parts of campus, the build team has worked with MSU to coordinate safety, logistics of material imports and alternate routes for students.��

“We have collaborated closely with our university partners to meet all deadlines throughout the construction of Azalea Hall, ensuring this project is ready in time for the next school year,” said��P.J. Pearson, project manager at HPM, in a statement. “We are thankful for our reliable contractors and for our invaluable partnership with Mississippi State in making every stage of this project progress smoothly.”��

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University’s future STEM Teaching and Learning Facility will be the first in Michigan to use an innovative wood product, rather than concrete and/or steel, for its load-bearing structure.

Known as mass timber, this framing style uses large solid or engineered wood. The $100 million facility will be constructed of glue-laminated wooden columns and cross-laminated timber, or CLT, a relatively new product for the floors and ceilings.

“As a leading public research university, MSU has the fantastic opportunity to showcase these innovative and sustainable construction methods in the state of Michigan,” said Satish Udpa, MSU’s acting president. “I am delighted to see university operations, including building construction, pull from our state’s history as a lumber leader and mesh with the engineering capabilities of advanced materials.”

CLT is a wood panel made from gluing layers of solid wood at cross-grain to result in a lightweight and strong panel. It’s been used in Europe for more than 20 years, with recent interest in Canada and the U.S., especially on the West Coast.

“We compared mass timber with other framing methods and were intrigued by how far wood has come as a building material,” said John LeFevre, MSU’s Planning, Design and Construction director. “A major advantage is the speed of construction – the panels can be assembled very quickly.”

The new building will be constructed around the former Shaw Lane Power Plant, adjacent to Spartan Stadium. The renovation will include a student science studio space and a vibrant commons area with a cafe. Two new mass timber wings will offer 117,000 square feet of modern teaching labs, responding to STEM course demand, which has increased 40 percent in the last 10 years at MSU. The project architect is IDS with Ellenzweig Architecture, IDEO Design and Sasaki Design. Granger Construction Company is the construction manager.

The pleasing aesthetics of exposed wood also create a warm, inviting and atypical environment for learning science.

“I am excited to see the educational, research and outreach opportunities that the building itself promises to many academic units and to our land-grant mission,” said Ron Hendrick, dean of MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “It is an interdisciplinary platform encompassing forestry, construction management, biosystems engineering and beyond, and can serve as a catalyst to develop this new technology in Michigan.”

Many believe the MSU building will catalyze additional mass-timber construction in the state, which might lead to establishing CLT manufacturing in Michigan.

“Michigan is ideally situated to become a leader in mass-timber manufacturing,” said Mark Rudnicki, Michigan Forest Biomaterials Institute executive director. “We have abundant forest resources that are managed sustainably and the manufacturing know-how. But there is not a building CLT manufacturer in the central U.S.”

Michigan DNR officials agree.

“Having a CLT manufacturer in Michigan would not only create green jobs using sustainable resources, but also provide the financial resources and incentives that are needed to restore and conserve healthy, diverse and productive forests that provide so many other benefits,” said Debbie Begalle, state forester and chief of the Forest Resources Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The building is slated to open in fall 2020 with classes beginning in January 2021. The wood panels are being manufactured in Quebec and will arrive on campus in April.

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Memphis, Tenn.-based Education and Realty Trust () — a collegiate housing management and development firm — has partnered with MSU on the project. The official decision and announcement was made on Feb. 15 when the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning made the decision and public announcement to move forward on the project. The multi-use development will be dubbed, “College View.”

McCarty Architects of Tupelo, Miss., and Hanbury Architects of Norfolk, Va,. have been chosen for the project, with Montgomery Martin Contractors of Memphis, Tenn., serving as the general contractor. The commencement of construction came after an extensive feasibility study was conducted by MSU and EdR.

The budget for the project is $67 million, with plans for EdR to finance, build and manage the College View development using a 40-year lease of university land with a 10-year renewal option. The development will be financed through EdR’s innovative on-campus equity plan, The ONE Plan. The ONE Plan uses the company’s equity and financial stability to fund projects on university land. This program gives the university access to a single trusted partner, and helps create substantial long-term financial benefits for EdR and its partner university. MSU will receive a portion of revenue as ground lease payment.

“We are honored to start this development that will positively impact both Mississippi State and the overall community of Starkville,” said  Randy Churchey, CEO at EdR, in a recent statement. “We have consistently seen that new on-campus housing developed by EdR helps our partner universities to increase enrollment, improve retention and generate a stronger sense of community and engagement with the campus.”

The approximately 34-acre parcel of land is located on the northwestern edge of campus, in the previous location of the Aiken Village apartments prior to their recent demolition. Plans for the project call for the construction of a multi-phased development that will include 656 residential beds for upperclassmen in Phase I, with completion of the project expected in fall 2019.

In addition, College View will feature 46,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, recreational amenities, an outdoor entertainment zone, a 7,000-square-foot day care center and parking. There may be further phases to the project in the future, but they will not be determined until further market analysis has been conducted and the current phase is further underway.

“We believe that our partnership with EdR will help us meet the needs of our students, and College View will also become a destination for members of the community, alumni and other visitors to Starkville and Mississippi State,” said Mark E. Keenum, president of MSU, in a recent statement. “I appreciate the support of the Board of Trustees as we have worked steadily over the past three years to bring this first-of-its kind project to a Mississippi university campus.”

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — Amongst the many green and sustainable efforts made by Michigan State University (MSU) over the years, the school can now also proudly boast having the largest solar carport in the U.S.

Thanks to Vancouver, British Columbia-based Alterra Power and Inovateus Solar LLC in South Bend, Ind., MSU now has a fully operational 11-MW solar array on five of its parking lots as of Dec. 21. The solar panels are located above 45 acres of carports at MSU, covering more than 4,500 parking spaces across campus.

The solar carports are an investment that the school made with the expectation of saving $10 million over 25 years, after spending just under $2.5 million to connect the solar PV arrays to the MSU electrical system — ��less than what MSU would have spent on its other forms of power generation, according to MSU’s . ��For the rest of the project, the 1st Source Bank in South Bend, Ind., provided a long-term loan of $19.8 million, and will be paid over time by MSU purchasing the energy generated by the PV array.

Alterra will manage the project, which will sell 100 percent of its power under a 25-year agreement with the Board of Trustees of MSU. Inovateus is the construction manager for the project and will provide operation and maintenance services as well.

The project will bring cleaner air to MSU students and faculty because of the emissions-free generation of electricity, according to Wolfgang Bauer, a university distinguished professor in physics who assisted with the project, in an on the college’s website. It will also help reduce the university’s utility costs over time, which, in turn, will help keep tuition rates as low as possible, Bauer added.

In addition to these benefits, the solar carports will provide protection from direct sunlight and prevent parked cars from heating up too much in the summer as well as keep parked cars protected from snowfall in the winter. The solar panels will also produce power for the campus during daytime hours when demand is typically at its highest and will generate more than 15,000 megawatt hours of power per year — about 5 percent of the electricity used on campus annually. Finally, the solar carports will be a catalyst for additional renewable projects on campus.

The installation of the massive solar array is consistent with the university’s to invest in sustainable energy research, improve the environment on campus and contain overall energy costs.

Construction of the solar arrays on the five campus parking lots began in March 2017, and work was completed over the spring, summer and fall. The arrays became fully functional and operational in December, keeping with the original timeline projected by the university.

“We’re pleased to complete this project within 2017 — with tremendous thanks to our partners at Michigan State University, 1st Source and Inovateus,” said Jon Schintler, vice president of Project Finance & Development at Alterra, in a recent statement. “We’re looking forward to further growth of our U.S. solar business and many successful years delivering clean power to MSU.”

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