MTSU’s new and long-anticipated  $65 million Student Union will open to the public Friday, Aug. 24, at 7 a.m., said Sarah Sudak, associate vice president for the Division of Student Affairs and dean of students.

The news of the opening coincides with an already full weekend as students and faculty return to campus to begin the fall semester and 2012-13 academic year.

For the opening weekend, the Student Union will be open from 7 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, and from 8 a.m. until noon Sunday, Aug. 26.

An official grand opening ceremony is tentatively scheduled for mid-September, and the public will be invited.

“The MTSU Student Union is an amazing facility that will serve our community well for many years to come,” said Sudak, who has overseen the project for Student Affairs and worked directly with Messer Construction, which began building the nearly 211,000 square foot facility in 2009.

While the 45-year-old Keathley University Center grill/food court venues will remain open, the new union will replace the KUC as the go-to place for students, faculty, staff and visitors.

“I’m just so excited about the future that the union represents for this campus,” said Dr. Deb Sells, vice president for student affairs and vice provost for enrollment and academic services.

“The new union will become the hub — the heart — of the MTSU community,” Sells added. “I suspect it will become a visible representation of the True Blue spirit, as faculty, staff and students come together to eat, meet, relax and socialize.”

The building features Phillips Bookstore; a 640-seat food court and 102-seat casual dining restaurant; an 840-seat ballroom; student government, Student Involvement and Leadership and other offices; a Parliamentary Room; theater; collaborative computer center; and much more.

In late spring, Sudak said the length of the three-story building is one-and-ahalf football fields, which is 150 yards.

When asked what kind of feedback she was hearing about the facility this summer from new and returning students and parents, Sells said:

“The comment heard most often was, ‘I can’t believe how big it is!’ For students who are used to the KUC — and for whom the KUC is the only frame of reference — the thought of a union that is actually a football-field-and-a-half long is almost more than they can fathom.

“And they confirmed that the way to a student’s heart is through the stomach — I heard lots of excitement about the opening of Dunkin Donuts and Popeyes!”

Other fast-food establishments include The Blue Raider Grill, The Dawg House, Tortilla Fresca, Panda Express, Happy Tomato and the Totally Baked Potato Bar.

The building continues to marvel passers-by, who cannot wait to enter.

Sudak said interior and exterior construction will continue this fall.

“There will be on-going work during the fall semester as the copy center is completed, landscaping is finished and furniture deliveries are completed,” Sudak said.

ARAMARK/MT Dining is managing all food service, she added.

In addition to the KUC, the 60-year-old James Union Building will remain open as a venue for events, classes, offices and an ARAMARK/MT Dining facility.

Regular fall-semester operating hours for the Student Union will be 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m. Friday to 1 a.m. on Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and from noon until midnight on Sunday.

First-floor features include:

• Phillips Bookstore;

• six new food-service venues;

• a 640-seat food court and a 102-seat casual-dining restaurant;

• a game room; and

• an ATM area, copy center, lounge areas and email stations.

Second-floor features include:

• an 840-seat ballroom with a green room and two dressing rooms;

• an 84-seat Parliamentary Room and a 95-seat video theater;

• a formal meeting and dining area;

• a collaborative computer center;

• two large, two medium and three small conference rooms, and three small seminar rooms; and

• lounge spaces that include collaborative technology, email check stations, flat-screen TVs, a fireplace and seminar rooms.

Third floor features include

• offices for the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, Student Organization, Student Government and Student Unions and Programming;

• two small seminar rooms; and

• a television lounge and other lounge spaces that include collaborative technology.