New EA facility in the works at Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University is expected to officially green-light Electronic Arts to begin construction on a 94,000-square-foot facility on campus this summer. The Advocate of Baton Rouge reports the $30 million building, which will be paid for mostly by state and federal grants, would be the first for-profit business on campus in cooperation with the school. EA will pay $465,000 a year in rent once the building is completed, which is expected to be in the late summer or fall of 2012.

The proposed facility is said to feature a classroom, an auditorium, conference rooms, A/V equipment, and a coffee shop on the first floor. The second floor will be occupied by the school's Center for Computation and Technology, which will also take up some resources on the bottom floor. The top floor is reserved for EA.

EA first established a presence at the school in 2008 with a QA facility. The space is now "maxed out." EA currently has about 400 workers in Baton Rouge (some being part-time students), with a $6 million payroll that could add another 200 employees. EA's current deal with LSU runs through June 2018.

[Thanks, Nick]