Jenison Fieldhouse (alternately referred to in university publications as Jenison Field House) is a 10,004-seat, later reduced to 6,000-seat, multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 47,741. The city is located immediate ...

. The arena opened in 1940 and was named for alumnus Frederick Cowles Jenison, whose estate, along with PWAP funds, funded the building. It was home to the

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

Spartans basketball team before they moved to

Breslin Center The Jack Breslin Student Events Center is a multi-purpose arena at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. The arena opened in 1989, and is named for Jack Breslin, MSU alumnus, former athlete and administrator, who first began pus ...

in the fall of 1989. Previously Michigan State College (MSC) basketball had played home games at Demonstration Hall and the IM Circle (then known as College Gymnasium) buildings.

Seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

at Jenison was rated at 12,500 from its opening until the early 1970s when rulings by the state fire marshal reduced the limit to 9,886 (later recalculated at 10,004). Standing-room only admissions allowed some Jenison crowds to exceed 15,000 in the 1940s, but rated capacity was rarely exceeded after 1950. The venue is most famous for its 1978–79 NCAA champion basketball team, which included Earvin "Magic" Johnson, and was coached by

Jud Heathcote George Melvin "Jud" Heathcote (May 27, 1927 – August 28, 2017) was an American basketball player and coach. He was a college basketball head coach for 24 seasons: five at the Montana Grizzlies basketball, University of Montana and nineteen ...

. Michigan State also qualified for the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

in 1957, and Jenison also hosted the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

NCAA basketball tournament Mideast Regionals. A plaque outside the arena commemorates one of the 1963 regional semifinals; the "

Game of Change The Game of Change was a college basketball game played between the 1962–63 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team, Loyola Ramblers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball, Mississippi State Bulldogs on March 15, 1963, during ...

", in which a segregated

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

team played and lost to the eventual national champion, an integrated Loyola team. The losing Maroons (now known as the Bulldogs) had defied a court order prohibiting them from leaving the state to play an integrated team. The game is now seen as a watershed moment in the intersection of civil rights and sports during the Civil Rights Movement. The three-story building's architecture is late

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

, with a monumental entrance that includes three reliefs of a baseball player, basketball player, and football player above the three main doors. Locker room facilities at Jenison have also been used for Spartan baseball and softball teams, which compete at the adjacent outdoor venues Kobs Field and Old College Field. During its first 30 years of service, Jenison Fieldhouse featured a dirt surface, with a hardwood basketball court elevated about a foot over floor level. The building was also used for indoor track and occasionally as an indoor football practice facility. A Tartan indoor track and basketball floor surface was installed in 1970, although a portable hardwood floor was used for basketball games from 1980 to 1989. Following the move of Spartan basketball teams to the

, Jenison Fieldhouse was reconfigured and renovated to host numerous other university athletic activities. The Fieldhouse is currently where the gymnastics, wrestling, and indoor track and field teams compete. It is also the second home for the women’s volleyball team when there is a conflict at the Breslin Center. It also contains Athletic Department offices.

References

{{Michigan State Spartans men's basketball navbox College wrestling venues in the United States Michigan State Spartans basketball venues Defunct basketball venues in the United States Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Michigan State University campus Art Deco architecture in Michigan Sports venues completed in 1940 1940 establishments in Michigan Indoor arenas in Michigan