Contact: Dennis Hansen, Campus Park and Planning, (517) 355-9582, hansen@cpp.msu.edu; or Tom Oswald, University Relations, (517) 355-2281, oswald@msu.edu
11/4/2004
Repair work on �The Spartan,� the statue on the Michigan State University campus commonly known as �Sparty,� is taking a little longer than originally anticipated, meaning the statue will remain within a tent-like enclosure until sometime next week.
Beginning last month, the statue was covered by scaffolding and a heated enclosure that allowed workers to make a mold of it that will be used to cast a new statue in bronze.
The work was originally intended to be completed by Nov. 3, in time for the Nov. 6 MSU home football game against Ohio State.
Unfortunately, several new problems were discovered during this work, including damage to the statue�s surface and protective coating, as well as water that had become trapped inside it.
Repairs are now being made to the surface. The water has been drained from the statue, a critical operation because freezing and thawing of the water during the winter could result in more damage.
The mold is going to be used for the manufacturing of a new bronze statue that will be placed in a newly designed plaza/intersection near the site of the current statue, which is at the convergence of Kalamazoo Street, Chestnut Road and Red Cedar Road, north of Demonstration Hall.
The original �Sparty� has stood at that intersection for nearly 60 years. Standing 9 feet 7 inches tall and weighing an estimated 5,000 pounds, it is believed to be the largest freestanding ceramic sculpture in the world.
Because of weather and other factors, experts estimate that �Sparty� couldn�t survive outside for much longer. A fund-raising effort successfully raised money to replace the original statue with the bronze replica, which will be ready for MSU�s sesquicentennial celebrations in 2005.
For additional information on the project, visit the Web at www.alumni.msu.edu/spartyproject/spartyproject-frameset.htm