Exclusive look inside Frost Arena as renovations continue

BROOKINGS, S.D. (KELO) — Big changes are in the works at one of South Dakota’s best-known arenas.

It’s been a month since SDSU’s last home basketball game in Frost Arena and it already looks a lot different.

“Literally, as soon as that game was over, we started taking out the Midco connections, started taking out score tables, getting things ready. And our construction folks have done an awesome job,” SDSU Athletics senior associate AD of facilities Jeff Holm said.

The plan is to have the concourse level of the arena complete by the time the volleyball team takes the court this fall.

“We’ll have triple the concession stands and triple the bathrooms. And there’ll be a walkway concourse all the way around with new chair back seats on that second level,” Holm said.

The first level, including the court, will stay the same this year. It will be complete in the fall of 2024, along with the third floor, which will include new suites.

The Frost Arena court covered by plywood to protect it while construction crews work.

“Everything will be new. The court will be new. The score table, actually the digital score table. The video boards,” Holm said.

Coaches and players will also have new offices and locker rooms.

They’ve taken down part of the wall in the southeast corner of Frost Arena and you can see daylight coming in. That will be one of the main entrances of First Bank and Trust Arena when it’s complete.

Southeast corner of Frost Arena where the wall has been partially removed.
Exterior of the southeast corner of Frost Arena with the new entrance being built.

Henry Carlson Construction is the main contractor doing all the work.

“They’re going very well. We actually started here last August, getting started with what we could, working with the school to keep everything active, as Jeff said. But then once the games were over, we were able to cut loose and really get after it, so a lot of activity in the last month,” project superintendent Joe Turpeinen said.

Even though it won’t be Frost Arena anymore, it will still have that Frost Arena feel.

“I’m overly excited about some of the bleacher wood. Probably 60% of the bleacher wood is being reused as accent pieces in the new building, and so our fans will be very appreciative and it’s really quite cool,” Holm said.