Electronic Arts, the popular video game developer, will find a new home on the University’s campus with the construction of the Digital Media Facility.
The facility was approved by the LSU System Board of Supervisors on April 15 and will cost roughly $30 million, paid for primarily by state capital outlay appropriations, according to the Board.
Arthur Cooper, head of the LSU System Research and Technology Foundation, said the facility will be built on the main campus next to the existing Louisiana Emerging Technology Center near Parker Coliseum.
Cooper said crews will begin construction on the 94,000-square-foot building this summer, and work is expected to be complete by fall 2012.
Cooper said the facility will include three stories, with the first two designated for Center for Computation and Technology. He said the facility’s first two floors will include a conference center, an auditorium, a classroom and multimedia conference rooms.
Cooper said there will also be a coffee and sandwich shop on the first floor, but a vendor has not yet been selected.
The third floor will house EA, which opened a contract with the University in 2008 and is currently operating at the LSU South Campus off GRSI Avenue.
EA will pay about $465,000 in annual rent once the building is complete, according to the Board.
Cooper said the addition will be both an economic and academic gain for the University.
“The Digital Media Facility is an important space for the state,” he said. “It will attract digital media companies. EA is an important player in that world.”
Cooper said economically, the facility will show the rest of the nation the University can support this type of institution. He said there are few like it.
“On an academic level, it is an opportunity for students to collaborate and learn,” he said.
Cooper said the facility will be especially beneficial for students minoring in AVATAR, or arts, visualization, advanced technologies and research. He said students with this unique minor will be able to see their potential work environment firsthand.
“EA is special in that it employs so many students,” he said. “About 60 percent of upper management at EA comes through testing centers.”
By moving to the facility, Cooper said EA expects to gain more employees.
Cooper praised the facility’s design, saying it will be “state-of-the-art.”
The only obstacle in building the facility will be the location of the LSU AgCenter’s Sheep and Swine Exhibit Building, which will be demolished and relocated to make room for adequate parking, as stated in the Board’s report.
Cooper said the exhibit will stay in place until the construction of the building is complete. Afterward, a replacement facility will be built across from Alex Box Stadium.
EA’s contract with the University will run through June 2018.