South Dakota State University

Stanley J. Marshall Center Addition & Renovation  | Brookings, SD

For many students, a big part of the college experience is supporting their school sports teams. For students at South Dakota State University, that experience has virtually exploded over the past decade with many teams making deep postseason runs, including highly publicized football national championships, March Madness trips for both men’s and women’s basketball, and trips to Nationals for wrestling.

Naturally, the university wants its facilities to keep pace with this success, not only for students and student-athletes, but for donors and fans too. Multiple athletic facilities on campus have undergone expansion or upgrade in recent years, including more than $75 million in improvements to the Stanley J. Marshall Center.

The complex is home to the men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams, and space was beginning to get tight. Initial programming determined a multi-phase approach to accommodate both operations and budget. Phase I was completed in 2018, and involved approximately 27,000 square feet of basketball practice space for the men’s and women’s basketball programs.

The second phase was the most extensive yet. This $53.1 million, multi-tiered project involved re-configuring the newly renamed First Bank & Trust Arena to improve site lines for fans, add VIP box seating, club seating and an improved concourse with lots of fan concessions to bolster the feeling of “home court advantage”. The project also constructed new locker rooms for men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball, as well as visitor locker rooms.

This phase also tackled major upgrades to the mechanical, electrical, and infrastructure. Changes included major additions and modifications to the existing HVAC, plumbing, fire protection, and electrical systems. Mechanical and electrical construction for this phase alone was significant – reaching roughly $10.4 million. The teams were able to play in the former Frost Arena throughout construction thanks to a phased approach to the renovations, and the new facility was officially opened in the Fall of 2024.