Huey P. Long Field House will soon unveil renovations
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BATON ROUGE - Named for the Kingfish when he was still alive, the Huey P. Long Field House is as much of a staple of LSU as Tiger Stadium.
"It was a social center of campus for decades," LSU Professor Robert Mann said.
In 2021, WBRZ brought you behind the scenes and showed the university's plans to bring the Field House into the 21st century.
"It fell into disrepair because of it's historic nature and disuse," Mann said. "They were closing sections of it off."
$25 million from the state went towards classroom upgrades for the College of Human Sciences and Education.
"The parts of it that were being used were really bad, water leaking on people's desks," Mann said. "So it just was almost to the point where it needed to be either torn down or renovated. Thank goodness the state came through and found the money to renovate it."
Some have gotten a glimpse. In a picture posted online, you can see the pool is now turned into a green space for students. It's reminiscent of its original use.
"The pool was a really popular centerpiece and a really popular place on campus for students to hangout for decades," he said.
For Mann, the upgrades are a reminder of the past.
"It was really the precursor to the student union," he said. "It was where all the dances were. It was where everybody came together. It was sort of the common meeting point on campus."
LSU wouldn't reveal all the details of the upgrades. That will come out in the fall of 2023 during the official ribbon cutting.