Arena upgrades coming to Minnesota State’s Verizon Wireless Center

According to the Mankato Free Press, state funding for upgrades to the Verizon Wireless Center may be happening sooner than later.

Already passed by both houses of the Minnesota legislature, the borrowing and spending bills for construction projects include $14.5 million for a Mankato civic center project – overall, about a $30 million project.

Part of that money will go to hockey-specific improvements and making the arena the full-time home of the Minnesota State men’s and women’s teams.

The next phase of the project is expected to commence in the fall, but the hockey portion likely won’t begin until March 2015, according to the report.

New dressing rooms for the men’s and women’s teams, as well as visiting team and youth locker rooms moved to the east side of the rink, coaches offices, a recruiting area, player lounge and a weight room will potentially be part of the renovation project.