MSU board approves JQH Arena bonds

As part of his $30 million commitment to the arena, hotelier John Q. Hammons will pay nearly half of each payment made on the bonds, in addition to a $1 million cash gift.

The arena is being built on the parking lot east of Hammons Student Center on the Springfield campus.

Construction began in December and is expected to be finished by November 2008, in time for MSU's 2008-2009 basketball season. Features include 22 private suites, more than 100 loge seats, 55 courtside seats, the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame, team souvenir store and ticket office.

A number of area businesses also have committed gifts for the arena, most recently Price Cutter, which will sponsor the arena’s east concourse and the Hall of Fame, and St. John's Health System, which will sponsor the arena's south concourse. Other donors include Bill R. Foster and the Foster Family Foundation, which will sponsor the University Suite; Tom Strong with The Strong Law Firm and the Strong family, who will help fund the arena’s Grand Entrance; Prime Inc., which gave $1 million for the facility’s Prime Overtime Club; and Great Southern Bank, which gifted between $1.5 million and $1.8 million to purchase a video scoreboard.