Ferris State to add new dorm attached to football stadium

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Ferris State University on Thursday announced plans for a new residence hall with a front-row view of the gridiron.

The new dorm will wrap around the north end zone of Top Taggart Field. Costing about $38 million, the still-unnamed hall will have four stories and 300 beds. The first floor will have community spaces opening onto the stadium.

“This new living space puts students right in the heart of the action at Ferris State University,” university President Bill Pink said in a Thursday statement. “We are creating an unmatched student experience in our residence halls to accompany the work we’ve done in our classrooms. This will be a state-of-the-art facility with all the modern conveniences students today are looking for, with the added benefit of being attached to an entertainment complex that will host events throughout the year. These students will truly have the best seat in the house.”

The new dorm’s location is unusual. Ferris State says it will be the only residence hall attached to a football stadium at a public university in Michigan, though private Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids has one attached to its baseball stadium.

But the new dorm isn’t meant only for student-athletes: Anyone could live there.

Construction could start as early as next year, with the money to pay for the dorm coming from bonds. It would be Ferris’ first new dorm since 2017 and the first of two new residence halls to replace aging dorms.

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