MSU names architect for JQH Arena

MSU’s Board of Governors approved the hiring of Kansas City-based Ellerbe Becket to take the arena through its initial programming phase and, most likely, create its design.

“The programming phase is where we determine what we’re going to have in the arena and what we’re not going to have in the arena – it helps us focus our scope of work,” said Greg Burris, chair of the arena’s Architect Selection Committee and vice president for administrative and information services at MSU.

Ellerbe Becket will guide the university in collecting input from various stakeholders to learn their expectations and needs of the arena. Throughout the phase, officials hope to determine exterior and interior functional requirements, space sizes and quantities, contents, activities and relationships.

The programming phase will allow the university to define the project so that it may project an estimated design fee, Burris said. University officials, along with representatives from Ellerbe Becket, will spend the next month exploring design options and visiting other arenas across the country to get ideas.

Burris said that although renderings of the arena, created by Springfield-based Pellham Phillips, were presented when the arena was first announced in February, the final project could be “vastly different.”

“The actual arena could look like anything at this point,” he said. “It’s a blank piece of paper.”

Design work of the arena will begin in June, after the programming phase is complete. Burris said the project is still on track for a November 2008 opening.

Ellerbe Becket was selected from 10 bids received in March. The selection committee narrowed the firms to four, and MSU President Michael Nietzel determined the ranking of those finalists.