Inside the $34.5 million renovation of Mississippi State's Humphrey Coliseum

STARKVILLE — The Humphrey Coliseum is receiving a makeover.

Thrash Commercial Contractors were selected by Mississippi State University last week to lead a project that will create a club level to the basketball arena, widen the concourses, upgrade the bathrooms and introduce suites. The winning proposal for construction was $34.5 million, Luke Walker, the business development manager for Thrash, told the Clarion Ledger.

That proposed budget comes in under the original budget of $40 million the university set for the project, Walker said. Plans to renovate aspects of the Humphrey Coliseum have been ongoing for more than two years. The work had been negotiated with a previous contractor, but the school placed the project back out for bid.

Once the job opened again for bidding, Thrash — in conjunction with the architects at Dale Partners and AECOM Sports — won the bid. And while supply chain issues and worker shortages have been frequent issues for construction companies the last few years, Walker doesn’t anticipate any delays.

“We have got our A team on it,” Walker said. “There’s a guy we hired right out of high school, and he’s been with us for — I think it’s his 19th year. He has built a $70 million museum here in (Jackson) and he just came off a $40 million addition and renovation to the Vicksburg High School, and that school remained fully operational all through COVID. We were building right in the middle of it.”

Thrash, a construction company headquartered in Brandon, hasn’t worked on a stadium before. But Walker said the operation is most similar to the Vicksburg High project and the Brandon Amphitheater development.

“In terms of scope of work similarities and the way concrete still gets poured, it’s very similar,” Walker said.

The construction is set to begin later in February, while the basketball season is still underway. They’ll work around the teams, ensuring the floor and seating is still operational, by focusing on concourse upgrades first.

The project requires the relocation of Lakeview Drive, which runs past Dudy Noble Field, the Humphrey Coliseum and Chadwick Lake, in order to allow for a new exterior entry plaza and staff offices.

Construction also includes two grand lobbies on the east and west side of the arena that will feature a direct view down to the court. And there will be a 6,000-square foot sideline to sideline club with nearly 580 club seats.

“They’re going to take a section out of (the concourse) right there and create a suite area, sideline to sideline,” Walker said. “It’ll be very similar to Davis Wade, kind of how it’s a catered space in the suites area. It would be very similar to that. It’s open walk-around space. You can grab food, you have access to other things.”

Substantial completion is set for Oct. 1, although some “punch-list items” will still remain, Walker said. The Humphrey Coliseum will remain fully operational during construction.

https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/mississippi-state/2022/02/14/inside-34-5-million-renovation-mississippi-state-humphrey-coliseum/6789319001/?utm_source=ourcommunitynow&utm_medium=web