West Virginia University officials will be looking for legislative support in 2026 for, among other things, an HVAC system and increased seating capacity at the Hope Coliseum. (Photo Courtesy of WVU Athletics)

MORGANTOWN — In a competitive sense, the spectators who fill WVU’s Hope Coliseum are always looking to turn up the heat on the competition.

From a comfort standpoint, they could go for a little air conditioning now and then.

That’s to say nothing of the friends, family and graduates who make their way into the massive concrete saucer for May commencement ceremonies.

During the most recent session of the WVU Board of Governors, President Michael Benson said improvements to Hope Coliseum are among the priorities being advanced by the university as the West Virginia Legislature prepares to convene on Jan. 14.

Others include additional support for deferred maintenance and an expansion of the WVU School of Medicine.

“And the third is for help with renovation of Hope Coliseum, so that we can make that a year-round venue — actually add HVAC, air conditioning, which we do not have — and increase the capacity at the Coliseum,” Benson said.

As for the medical school, Benson said, “It is an expansion of our medical school in terms of the infrastructure, so we can put in more lecture halls and class spaces to increase that size.”

Benson said the university is working “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Marshall University in asking for three comparable requests.

While the specific capital projects are unique to the schools, they’re both pushing for additional support for deferred maintenance.

In 2024, WVU received approximately $47 million for deferred maintenance as part of a $209 million pool set aside by the West Virginia Legislature and former Gov. Jim Justice to address infrastructure needs at public colleges and universities across the state.

That money was spread across dozens of projects on WVU’s Morgantown, Keyser and Beckley campuses, some 15 of which involved the repair or replacement of roofs on a handful of the 500-plus buildings across the WVU system.

Some of those funds (an estimated $4.8 million) are addressing, or have addressed, the maintenance needs of the steam tunnels that that deliver heat to the Morgantown campus; structural support of the Purinton House (Morgantown; $1.4 million), a new pedestrian bridge at the Engineering Sciences Building (Morgantown; $1 million); improvements to Davis Hall (Keyser; $7.8 million) and repairs to Carter Hall (Beckley; $2.4 million) among a number of other projects.

“As we prepare for each legislative session, WVU leadership shares potential opportunities for state investment. We know that for every $1 invested in WVU, $9 is returned to the economy,” Executive Director of Strategic Communications Shauna Johnson said, explaining Benson’s comments about Hope Coliseum and the medical school expansion represent just some of the ideas under consideration.

“These are simply options at this point, and whether or not they proceed will be determined as we work with our state leaders during the 2026 legislative session.”