Fertitta Hall opens to undergraduates

This fall, the Jill and Frank Fertitta Hall will open its doors to students at the Marshall School of Business. Located at the corner of Figueroa Street and Exposition Boulevard, the new, five-story, 102,000 square-foot building will act as the new center for the school’s business and accounting programs.

The hall will also act as an expansion to the school’s existing facilities such as Popovich Hall, Bridge Hall, Hoffman Hall and the Accounting Building. With various amenities and features, Fertitta Hall will play a major role in redefining the Marshall experience for many students.

“The 50 breakout rooms sitting up to six people each and fully equipped for today’s high-tech devices, came as a result of undergraduates’ desire for more collaborative work spaces,” said Julie Tilsner, a spokesperson for Marshall. “Marshall and Leventhal students do a great deal of their work in teams, and they wanted ample, dedicated space to facilitate this mindset.”

The entirety of the LEED-certified building will exclusively serve the undergraduate population of the school, as it was designed specifically to address the needs of these students. In addition to the breakout rooms, Fertitta Hall will be the home of 20 new classrooms that will seat 1,046 students in total. Among them are two large lecture halls and three state-of-the-art, interactive learning classrooms.

Beyond new classrooms, the building also contains new office spaces for undergraduate programming, a business library located on the first floor, an Asian-themed food court-style cafe and a spacious courtyard connecting the building to Popovich Hall. The fifth floor will serve as the new home for the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, which was ranked No. 3 by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s leading entrepreneurship programs.

Fertitta Hall, which broke ground in September 2014, is now one of the most memorable structures on campus. With a windowed turret facing outward onto University Park, the cathedral-like building was designed by L.A.-based architecture firm AC Martin.

The Marshall building was officially constructed through a generous gift from Jill and Frank Fertitta, who graduated from the University in 1984. A Marshall graduate, Frank Fertitta III has worked to establish three successful businesses — Fertitta Entertainment, a Las Vegas-based casino and resort management company; Station Casinos, a branch of casino networks in Southern Nevada; and Zuffa LLC, which owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The family has been reputed as major contributors to President C. L. Max Nikias’ $6 billion fundraising campaign.

Many have praised the University’s efforts to provide more resources and opportunities to students.

“A lot of us feel that the other undergraduate buildings like Hoffman and Bridge Halls are old and outdated,” said Crystil Quiroz, a junior studying business administration. “So with Fertitta Hall, it’s great knowing that there’s going to be new classrooms and facilities that we can use. I’m sure it will help us with our overall learning experiences because there’s more updated technology and resources in the building.”

Fertitta Hall is scheduled to open on Aug. 22 for classes.