Editor's note: This is Part 3 of Spartans Illustrated’s coverage of Michigan State’s Spartan Stadium East Side Modernization Project. For those looking for background on the scope, rationale, and early planning behind the project:

• Part 1 walks through what Michigan State is proposing and why

• Part 2 provides a detailed photo-driven look at the plans and renderings

This piece focuses on what just happened — the issuance of the construction RFP — and what fans should expect over the next three and a half years. The articles can be read in any order, but together they provide the fullest picture of the project.

Michigan State has officially taken the first public step toward transforming the east side of Spartan Stadium.

Just before Christmas, the university issued a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking a construction management firm to lead the Spartan Stadium East Side Modernization Project. That document — dense, technical, and aimed at the construction industry — marks the moment this long-discussed project moved from concept to execution.

For fans, donors, and alumni, the RFP matters for one simple reason: it starts the clock.

Over the next three and a half years, Spartan Stadium will be reshaped in phases — not torn down, not replaced, but fundamentally modernized. Here’s what that process looks like from the stands.

Winter 2025–26: Planning becomes real

The RFP went out on December 19. Construction firms now have a month to study the stadium, walk the site, and submit proposals explaining how they would manage a project of this size and complexity.

By mid-February 2026, Michigan State expects to select its construction manager — a partner that will stay involved from early planning all the way through completion in 2029.

For fans, nothing changes during the 2026 season. No fencing. No closed gates. No visible disruption. But behind the scenes, this is when the shape of the project begins to lock in: scope, sequencing, budget discipline, and — critically — how construction can coexist with fall Saturdays.

2026: Designing the future Spartan fans will eventually walk through

Once the construction manager is hired, the project enters an extended pre-design and design phase that runs through 2026.

This is when the university finalizes what fans have mostly seen only in renderings and concepts so far:

• How the east side concourses will expand

• Where new premium seating and hospitality spaces will live

• How accessibility improves throughout the bowl

• How fans move through the stadium — wider concourses, fewer bottlenecks

It’s also when sequencing decisions are made. At this point, it appears Spartan Stadium is not shutting down and football will continue. That reality shapes everything. For fans, 2026 looks like a normal season — but with clearer communication about what’s coming and when.

2027-2028: The years the stadium starts to change

The biggest milestone comes in fall 2027, when Michigan State’s Board of Trustees is scheduled to authorize full construction.

Construction is planned to begin in November 2027, after the football season ends. Major demolition and heavy structural work are scheduled for the offseason to minimize disruption.

When fans return in fall 2028, they won’t be stepping into a construction zone so much as a work-in-progress stadium — one that still hosts football but looks and feels different in places. Expect temporary routing changes, select seating or concourse adjustments, and clearly marked construction boundaries.

What fans should not expect: a half-finished mess or unsafe conditions. The entire project appears to be structured around keeping Spartan Stadium functional and welcoming throughout the process.

The 2028 season will be the most visible year of construction for fans. By then, the east side transformation will be unmistakable. Structural elements will be up. New concourses will take shape. Premium spaces will begin to look like real rooms, not drawings.

Some inconveniences are inevitable — narrower paths in places, altered entrances, changing views — but the tradeoff is progress you can actually see.

This is the season when fans begin to understand what the project is really about: not just luxury spaces, but flow, comfort, accessibility, and capacity.

2029: A New Stadium Experience Emerges

Construction is scheduled to reach substantial completion in summer 2029.

That means the core work is done. The east side modernization is operational. Fans return that fall to a stadium that is still Spartan Stadium — same field, same sightlines, same traditions — but dramatically improved in how it works. Spartan fans can expect wider, more comfortable concourses, significantly improved ADA access, modernized restrooms and concessions, and new premium and social spaces that generate revenue to support the program.

Final punch-list items and finishing touches may extend into the season, but the transformation will largely be complete.

This is not a teardown. It’s not abandoning tradition. It is a phased modernization of a 100-year-old stadium that still needs to host upwards of 75,000 people on fall Saturdays — safely, comfortably, and competitively.

The RFP that just went out is the first visible signal that Michigan State is ready to do that work, deliberately and in public view.

From now through 2029, fans won’t just watch football at Spartan Stadium.

They’ll watch Spartan Stadium itself change — season by season — into the version Michigan State believes it needs for the next generation of Spartans.

For those looking for background on the scope, rationale, and early planning behind the project:

• Part 1 walks through what Michigan State is proposing and why

• Part 2 provides a detailed photo-driven look at the plans and renderings