Full name: Clarence L. "Biggie" Munn Ice Arena
Opened: Nov. 1, 1974
Capacity: 6,470
Ice surface: 200 feet by 85 feet (North American rules)
Single-season attendance record: 157,567 (1975-76)
Single-game attendance record: 7,121 vs. Michigan (March 1, 2001)

The home of Spartan Hockey, Clarence L. "Biggie" Munn Ice Arena is recognized as one of the finest collegiate hockey facilities in the country. The site of countless memorable games and the home sheet for some of the greatest teams in Michigan State history, Munn Ice Arena regularly welcomes one of the best home crowds in the collegiate game.

Built in 1974 strictly for hockey, the 6,470-seat facility is consistently being upgraded and renovated. Most recently, the administrative offices and team academic room received a facelift in the summer of 2007, making both areas not only more aesthetically pleasing, but also a more functional space for the staff and student-athletes.

In 2002, 9-foot by 16-foot video replay boards installed in the arenas east and west ends, and new scoreboards hung in the northwest and southeast corners. A project adding luxury boxes, club seating and a new press box was completed midway through the 1999-2000 campaign.

When Munn Ice Arena, named in honor of late Spartan football coach and athletic director Biggie Munn, was built, it was a smashing attendance success. With the Spartans playing exciting and winning hockey, Munn Ice Arena drew 118,875 during its first year of operation in 1974-75 and 157,567 in 1975-76, a mark that still stands for total home attendance in one season.

Munn Arena Student Section

The Spartans sold out their game against Northern Michigan on Dec. 19, 1985, and Munn Ice Arena has rarely had an available seat at a regular-season game since. Munn had a sellout streak which lasted more than 17 full seasons and 323 consecutive regular-season games. MSU has drawn at least 100,000 fans for 24 straight seasons and set a single-season record with an average of 6,722 fans in 1986-87. The Spartans set a new Munn record for attendance by drawing 7,121 fans in the regular-season finale against Michigan on March 1, 2001. In 2006-07, Munn Arena saw two of the top five home crowds in the history of the building: on Feb 17, 2007, 7,116 fans were on hand for the game against Western Michigan, while 7,092 watched a Nov. 3 victory over archrival Michigan.

Further enhanced by the team's performance on the ice, Munn Ice Arena, designed by Daverman Associates of Grand Rapids, is an excellent place to watch a hockey game.

Accessible from entrances on all four sides, the upper spectator viewing area includes excellent sight lines for all seating, ancillary public concourse facilities and an ADA-compliant seating platform. The lower level contains service areas for building maintenance, as well as offices and quarters for varsity, intramural and visiting teams. A training room, weight room, equipment room, study room and players lounge are all located alongside the Spartan Hockey locker room.

As a hockey-only facility, Munn Ice Arena avoids the scheduling conflicts found in other buildings. The ice surface, sized at 200 feet-by-85-feet for North American-rules play, is maintained by a direct refrigerant system rather than by the old heat-exchanged method. The system allows Munn Arena to maintain ice all year.

The new press box, located on the south side of the arena, serves approximately 40 people with three rows of seating. Platforms for television and still cameras are located on the north and south concourses at center ice.

Built into the natural slope of the rolling terrain, the structure gives the impression of being underground, since no external walls are visible. Clear span roof trusses form an angular roof profile and help provide acoustic control within the arena.

The building also is the site of the largest planting project on campus, enhancing the beauty of the facility. The surrounding area serves as a teaching and demonstration area for landscape architecture, botany and horticulture students.