The James Norris Events Center is a 275,000 square foot multi-use sport, recreation and event facility on the LSSU campus. The Norris Events Center is used for everything from University Recreation programming, academic offices & classrooms, conferences, community events, as well as Laker Athletics.
As it stands today, the Center is the product of the combined efforts of the faculty, students, Sault Ste Marie citizens, the State of Michigan and federal government. Work began in 1972 when what was then the Lake Superior State College Board of Control approved the resolution for the physical education building. After much fundraising, ground was broken on the new building on October 19, 1974 and was completed two years later in the Fall of 1976.
There would later be expansions and updates to the facility, including the $3.2 million expansion to what would become the Clarence “Taffy” Abel Arena, named after the legendary Sault Ste. Marie hockey star. The Arbuckle Student Activity Center was constructed in 1999 at a cost of $3 million and added to the sports complex multiple indoor courts, track, and a fitness center.
