The Michigan State University Tom Izzo Football Building was among four projects selected to receive a prestigious 2025 Associated General Contractors (AGC) Build Michigan Award. Granger team members were honored to join owners, design partners and other industry peers in celebrating during the Annual Meeting and Award Ceremony in Detroit, Michigan.
The project was completed on behalf of Michigan State University, with design partners from Integrated Design Solutions. Other notable contributing partners included John E. Green Co and Bluewater Technologies Group.
Build Michigan Awards
According to the AGC, “the Build Michigan Award was established in 1995 by the Professional Service Provider Member Council of the AGC of Michigan as a way to recognize the excellence of an entire project team.” Winning projects are selected by a panel of judges, and work can span categories including Building Construction $10 Million and Over, Building Construction $10 Million or Less, Federal and Heavy Construction, Construction Management, Design-Build and Environmental.
MSU Tom Izzo Football Building Project Overview
The MSU Izzo Football Building project exemplifies highly creative solutions to an extremely complex project; one that would’ve been complicated within a normal schedule let alone having to work at breakneck speed to accomplish the owner’s nearly impossible completion requirement.
The project involved right-sizing the existing building for an NCAA Division 1 football program, which was undersized by approximately 40% compared to new and renovated facilities in the Big Ten Conference and across the country. The new facility provides elite training areas and amenities that help student-athletes excel on and off the field, while offering high-level engaging experiences. It invests in high-performance training equipment and top-tier recovery spaces to help players and coaches stay at the top of their game, along with cutting edge equipment and technology that offers high-level engaging experiences and brings a WOW factor for recruits.
The project team was tasked with converting a 1980-built building into a world-class facility that supports the University and the Football Program’s mission and vision. This high-profile project for a key customer meant there was no room for error. Granger Construction knew the first step in achieving their vision involved forming a high-performing team with prior experience at MSU, specifically tailored to execute an extremely fast-paced project. Next, they went above and beyond traditional measures to require key subs to participate in weekly trade-specific workshops by making them part of the Specific Instructions to Bidders – a first for Granger and MSU. The team’s deep knowledge of the university’s needs and their ability to collaborate seamlessly enabled them to meet rigorous deadlines and provide innovative solutions throughout the project. The weekly trades workshops played a crucial role in this process, as did advocating for athletics and other stakeholders to be fully engaged, from early design input all the way through construction. This heavy involvement from MSU Athletics and other building user groups greatly enhanced timely decision-making and ensured there were no surprises along the way.
The actual construction of this building within the schedule parameters was nothing short of a miracle. Located on a micro site in the heart of a large bustling campus, surrounded by heavily traversed roads and sidewalks, the key scope of work involved demolishing a portion of the existing building within a horseshoe-shaped complex and rebuilding in that same footprint adjacent to existing occupied buildings. Work also included reworking spaces in the existing building and tying the new addition into those spaces. This was no small feat since all utilities for the remaining buildings ran through the building needing to be demolished. The team spent considerable time developing a phased demolition plan to successfully perform this portion of the work to ensure safety of building occupants and pedestrian traffic while also maintaining the rest of the building operations.
Did we mention that maintaining building operations meant working around a Big Ten, Division 1 football program that occupied the new locker room portion of the new building 3.5 months prior to the rest of the building being turned over, and that completing those remaining spaces took place right in the middle of the 2023 football season? Or that high-end finishes, aesthetics and immersive experiences played a huge role in this project, and the team knocked it out of the park when it came to coordinating the procurement and installation of some of the most advanced technology and innovative spaces on the market?
Despite the nearly impossible schedule, the many procurement challenges and the complexity of the work, the team exceeded all goals of the client and end users, providing the University and the Spartan Football Team with a truly magnificent, amenity-rich facility that elevates the experience for players while giving the team more opportunities to promote its culture.
