Quote:Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved permanent lights for the 93-year-old football stadium.

Greg Ianni, MSU’s deputy athletic director, said the project will cost between $2.2 and $2.5 million. The goal is to get final approval from the board at its September meeting, break ground in December and have the LED lighting system ready for the Spartans’ 2017 football season.

Additional revenue from Big Ten television contracts is expected to cover the the lighting project’s costs, which will come out of the MSU athletic department’s budget and not general funds, President Lou Anna K. Simon said.

Television networks currently pay for temporary lights to be brought in for late kickoffs at $60,000 to $65,000 per game, but Ianni said those contractual provisions expire in 2017. Schools will be required to pay for portable systems after this season.

MSU is one of three schools in the Big Ten without permanent lights. The others are Northwestern and Purdue. Iowa installed permanent towers at Kinnick Stadium prior to the 2015 season.