Inside The Soon-To-Be Renovated Humphrey Coliseum

STARKVILLE – Close your eyes. Are they closed? Alright, good. For the next few moments, you're about to take yourself to the future.

Picture this in your mind. It's November of 2023. You're sitting in your seat in the Humphrey Coliseum and Mississippi State's basketball season is just seconds away from tipping off. It's loud. Really loud. There's a buzz in the air.

The chill bumps come and it's in that moment you know; Bulldog hoops has been taken to another level.

*****

To be fair, you were amazed long before you ever sat down. Walking up to The Hump, you could already tell, this was going to be different.

The exterior of the building had changed in spots. The brick color matched all the other recent construction projects on campus. There were four new entrances.

On the eastern side – the side closest to the Sanderson Center – was where students now come into the venue. On the opposite side, over by the Palmeiro Center, was a new dedicated entrance for a premium area. More on that later.

Then, there are the new entrances on the southwestern and southeastern corners. These are located at about the same spots where most folks previously entered The Hump. Things have changed though.

Whereas before, individuals entered the large foyer attached to The Mize Pavilion, that's no longer the case.

On this day, you came into the building through the new southeastern entrance. Like it's southwestern counterpart, these two grand entranceways shined brightly in the night as you walked up, glowing like an opened-up jewelry box or treasure chest. You stroll closer and closer and get to experience a more welcoming exterior as well.

Lakeview Drive has been moved. The road, which once ran beside the Hump and behind the outfield wall at Dudy Noble Field, has been shifted closer to the Sanderson Center, allowing its former location to become an entrance plaza of sorts. It's now a fantastic spot to meet up with friends before heading in for the game, and it also somewhat connects The Hump to Dudy Noble by serving as a walkway to State's baseball park.

You walk across what used to be Lakeview and get closer to the entrance of the coliseum. Immediately upon walking through the door, you notice the space. There's a 34-foot-high ceiling.  Plus, you're looking right into the seating bowl already.

There's no more staring into concrete. As soon as you come into the building, you're immersed in the Mississippi State basketball experience.

Thoughts from Director of Athletics John Cohen: "When you walk into the facility itself, you'll be able to see [the playing area] much like Dudy Noble. You walk into the back entrance where the statues are…you walk in, and you can see the playing surface as you walk in…That's really important. The nature of the old structures is that they're walled in. You're either inside watching or you're outside. We want to bring the outside in, and I think there's going to be an appreciation for that right off the bat."

*****

Before the game, you couldn't help but make a stroll around the new concourse and take it all in. At spots, the walk feels familiar, but there are certainly many noticeable differences.

There is more space, along with more restrooms and concession stands than ever before. And getting a bite to eat inside The Hump has never been easier, thanks to the market style, grab-and-go format at all stands. Those who have already been to a game at Dudy Noble Field this baseball season can vouch for the speed, functionality and convenience of this type of concession area.

As you continue exploring, you walk by a large area with glass walls. You peer in and are amazed. MSU hoops has never had anything like this before.

What you're seeing is the new club seating area on the west side of the stadium. Remember the dedicated entrance over by the Palmeiro Center parking lot you briefly saw on your way into the coliseum? Well, this is where that leads.

Located between the lower and upper bowls along the court's sideline, the new premium area is designed to accommodate approximately 600 fans. The seating for this section will be located in the lower bowl, with several loge seats and ADA seating as well.

Of course, there's plenty of room to roam in this spot, too. The club area is set to be in the neighborhood of 5,600 square feet of space, along with dedicated restrooms. There are tables to enjoy a meal or catch up with a friend.

It's possibly as good of a spot to enjoy MSU hoops as there's ever been.

Cohen: "For fans that are members of that club, they will get out of their cars essentially, walk into a western entrance to the building and go right into the club level."

*****

Who are we kidding though? There are no bad seats in The Hump. It's one of the building's best qualities.

That's why, as you finally make your way to your own seat, the environment hasn't changed all that much.

There will be a few alterations. There'll be additional ADA seating. And given all the adjustments, the seat count in the building will decrease from 10,272 down to approximately 9,450. 

Other notable changes to The Hump that you'll benefit from (but that'll likely not even cross your mind) include the overhaul of mechanical, elecrical, safety and plumbing systems.

But the primary goal with this renovation was more about finally adding high-quality premium areas and better experiences outside of the seat. In the seat, The Hump has always provided one of the best experiences in the nation. There's no need to tinker too much with a good thing. It's why Mississippi State ultimately decided to renovate rather than construct an entirely new arena.

Cohen: "When we started the process, that was one of the ideas was to knock the whole thing down and start from scratch. What we determined after talking to several architects was, they said we honestly couldn't create a better seating bowl than we had right now. So, the actual seats and their placement are among the best in the entire country. The architects said, 'Hey, you can wreck this and knock it down and start all over again, but if you rebuild it, rebuild it exactly as it is right now because there's not a bad seat in the building."

*****

A couple of hours pass and the final horn sounds. The Dawgs win again. What a night. You wonder, 'How could this get any better?' Well it can, and it will.

What you just experienced was only phase one of The Hump renovation project. With a $50 million budget in this initial segment, work started immediately after the 2021-22 season and concluded just in time for you to enjoy the victory that has you smiling ear to ear in November of 2023.

But soon, even more is coming. Phase two of the project – with a start date yet to be determined – will include a renovation of the north side of the venue. Much of that you won't see or enjoy directly, as it's an overhaul of Mississippi State's team spaces. One thing you will notice is the addition of another premium area.

It'll be located along the baseline – at floor level below where the students currently sit. Think about the Gridiron Club behind the north end zone at Davis Wade Stadium, or the Triple Crown Club behind the plate at Dudy Noble Field. This will be in that same vein.

Cohen: "Phase one is all about our fans. It's all about our concourse. It's all about the entryways and premium areas for our fans. It's all about convenience and rebuilding of restrooms and concession stands and modernizing all of it. Phase two is all about the student-athlete. There's a premium element to it as well…We feel like for several reasons, we can't tackle both of these [phases] at the same time, but both will get done."

When the finishing touches are put on, The Humphrey Coliseum will be a point of pride for Bulldogs everywhere  It'll be right there among the best places in the entire country to experience college basketball.

https://hailstate.com/news/2022/2/23/mens-basketball-inside-the-soon-to-be-renovated-humphrey-coliseum-coleman.aspx