The Assembly Hall may be on its way to being renovated, pending the Board of Trustees’ official selection of architecture firm AECOM. After the first stages of the proposal process, the 49-year-old structure could be receiving its first major overhaul in as many years; air conditioning and the lowering of the event floor are two major items on the proposal’s agenda.

Last week a selection committee appointed by the Board of Trustees announced AECOM, a global architectural firm, as its choice for the renovation. The company’s Chicago office would be paid $2.2 million for initial design work, according to the committee’s report.

Kevin Ullestad, director of the Assembly Hall , said approving an architect is the first step forward in the project’s process that has been stagnant for the past few years.

“There have been numerous feasibility studies coming across our desks for the past three or four years, but (hiring an architect) would be the first step,” Ullestad said. “We’ve liked what we’ve seen with AECOM.”

Modernizing the Assembly Hall has become a priority.The building does not currently include an air conditioning system, which Ullestad said makes the Assembly Hall almost unusable in the summer months because of the heat.

“Air conditioning would make this a full 12-month operation,” said Ullestad, also a member of the Board of Trustees’ selection committee. “Even in early fall, it’s too hot in here and in mid-May right around graduation it’s very volatile, so air conditioning is huge on that list.”

Other items on the table include lowering the event floor, installing new seating, adding suites and lobby space, updating and adding more restrooms and expanding the concessions area.

If the board approves the selection of AECOM, plans and renderings would be used for fundraising purposes. The board’s agenda states that once 80 percent of funding is secured, the Athletic Department will request the University’s approval to move on to the construction phase. What may actually end up on the construction proposal is yet to be seen, Ullestad said.

In 2002, a proposal for a $66.8 million renovation to the Assembly Hall was denied. The last renovation to the arena came in the 1990s, when a construction project that spanned from 1996 to 1998 added 50,000 square feet of underground storage and receiving space, as well as a press room. The two-year project cost $12 million.

The committee’s recommendation stems from the lack of updates the Hall has received in nearly half a century.

“While the building was ahead of its time when it opened, significant changes in arena design have occurred over the past 48 years,” the agenda states. “This project will enhance amenities that will improve the experience for attendees and participants at events at the Assembly Hall.”

AECOM has handled a few University construction projects before and is currently working on the future Bioprocessing Research Lab, with construction set to begin in the spring, said Adana Maday, architectural designer at AECOM.

“The University has a knowledgeable staff, and there has been really good collaboration,” Maday said. “They are all-around good clients to work with.”

The Board of Trustees will vote on the proposal to contract with AECOM on the project Friday at their meeting in Springfield.