Crain's Detroit Business

Spartan Stadium will get a major makeover as part of a new $1 billion initiative by Michigan State University to update on-campus facilities and boost the student-athlete experience. The university announced Tuesday that "For Sparta: The Capital Initiative for MSU Athletics" is part of the school’s record $4 billion capital campaign, dubbed "Uncommon Will. Far Better World" campaign that it announced publicly in March. MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz said the initiative sets a bold course for the future of MSU athletics. “By investing in world-class facilities and experiences for our student-athletes, we are positioning MSU to lead in an increasingly competitive landscape,” Guskiewicz said in the announcement. “This initiative reflects our commitment to modernize our athletics program and I look forward to seeing the impact it will have on Spartans today and for generations to come.” The goal of the For Sparta campaign is to give MSU athletics the strategic resources for facilities and overall program investment to compete at the highest levels, according to a news release. The new campaign is designed to impact every MSU student-athlete, with sport-specific facility improvements across multiple venues and shared spaces, such as a student-athlete dining facility. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gDZs_hkX

Jennifer Gilbert, ex-wife of Detroit businessman Dan Gilbert, is starting a new foundation that plans to convert a former shipyard building on Detroit’s east riverfront into a venue for cultural programming and art. Dubbed Lumana Art Foundation, the new entity will serve as the cultural anchor of Stanton Yards, a 13-acre development site near Belle Isle and the latest addition to the Little Village cultural corridor, where arts space The Shepherd opened last year. The new foundation aims to create opportunities for artists and designers — including exhibition space — and the institutions supporting their work, Gilbert said. Gilbert, whose divorce from Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Rocket Companies, was finalized last month, did not disclose the amount she is contributing to help fund the effort or the projected costs to renovate the 21,000-square-foot building at 9666 E. Jefferson Ave. that Lumana is moving into. But its space at Stanton Yards is funded through her newly formed Lumana Arts Foundation, she said. The foundation is investing an undisclosed amount to renovate the 21,000-square-foot shipyard site to build out exhibition galleries, an auditorium, a bookstore and a café. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ggfNKBwv

There is new life at the Chrysler Tech Center as Stellantis looks to rebuild its North America operations. The automaker has hired hundreds of salaried employees at its North America headquarters in Auburn Hills in recent months as it moves to boost U.S. manufacturing. In all, the maker of Ram, Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge vehicles is adding nearly 2,000 direct, white-collar jobs in engineering, manufacturing, quality and other departments, according to the company. Employees note tougher competition for parking at the sprawling complex along I-75. Commuters bemoan the substantial increase of traffic on the Oakland County corridor. These are good problems, to be sure. Just a year ago, the situation at the transatlantic carmaker, and its future in Michigan, appeared dire — so much so that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called it a “top priority” to retain the automaker’s Michigan presence as its nerve center shifted overseas under previous leadership. So, nobody could have predicted then that Stellantis would be the only Detroit Three automaker not to uproot from its metro Detroit HQ. But as General Motors and Ford Motor move into new digs, the 33-year-old Chrysler Tech Center is humming with activity not seen since pre-pandemic. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gaCs6ZMD

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The Troy-based Emagine Entertainment Inc. movie theater chain is selling to Belgian operator Kinepolis Group NV. The $105 million sale of Paul Glantz’s theaters is expected to close by the end of the year, according to a news release. The purchase price could increase to as much as $120 million depending on the performance of the U.S. box office, the release says. The sale is expected to close by the end of the year. If the deal closes, Kinepolis adds 14 theaters with a total of 177 screens and 18,000 seats. Included in the proposed sale are Emagine’s theaters in Canton Township, Royal Oak, Hartland, Birch Run, Saline, Novi, Macomb Township, Rochester Hills and Saginaw. The deal also includes two locations in Illinois, two in Indiana and one in Wisconsin. Not included in the sale are nine theaters in Minnesota, one in Colorado and the Michigan Emagine locations in Farmington Hills and Woodhaven, to which Emagine operates and licenses its name but does not own, Glantz told Crain’s. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gJ4Ese9X