Updated at 9:35 a.m.

For years, the Michigan basketball team's facilities has lagged behind its biggest rivals.

As Ohio State, Michigan State, Louisville and other top programs around the country built new arenas, refurbished old ones and added lavish practice facilities on par with professional teams, Michigan suited up in old Crisler Arena and no practice facility.

That is about to change.

When Michigan regents approved a $52 million renovation of Crisler Arena on Thursday - the second phase of a project that already saw construction of a new Player Development Center begin in May - it signified a bigger commitment to basketball.

Michigan men’s basketball coach John Beilein now has something he can sell to recruits. And he’s making suggestions for what else he’d like to see.

“I think, to have it really look like a modern, classy arena that everybody will love to come to,” Beilein said. “I do not mind if we do take down the number of seats, I’ve told (athletic director) Dave (Brandon) that ... 12,000, or something like that, maybe makes it more comfortable, makes it nicer. We have challenges in this area with so many sports teams that a 12-to-13,000 seat arena is great."

The arena's current capacity is listed at 13,751.

“I just want it to be a place where we can both be efficient as a basketball team and also be fan-friendly," Beilein said. "All these additions are wonderful. I’ve seen all the different images of them and it’s wonderful. It’s great.”

Initial plans for the expansion include the addition of 63,000 square feet of space that would include a new fan entrance, a private club, retail spaces and ticket office. The concourses will be expanded and renovated, bathrooms will be added and all seats replaced.

The university said timing for the project, which will be paid for with athletic department funds and gifts, will be presented to the regents when a schematic design is ready for approval.

Michigan officials toured practice facilities, renovations and new arenas at other schools across the country, including Notre Dame and Kansas. Notre Dame recently overhauled the falling-apart Joyce Center and turned it into the state-of-the-art Purcell Pavilion.

"Every place has its own little unique thing about it," Michigan women's basketball coach Kevin Borseth said. "I don't know if I could put my finger on it, but Maryland is really the facility I saw, the place I played in years ago, that was really the premier facility that had a little bit of everything.

"Bright and clean and it looks warming and has space to move around, that type of stuff. Looks real professional and real roomy when you get in there."

Michigan is hoping to have something similar, at least based on what Brandon outlined as a "first-class, modern venue that will be among the best in the country."

Beilein said he’s been asked for input on some things, but isn’t planning on making decisions on the type of seats or whether or not to serve SnoCaps.

“They’ll ask me things important to basketball, like what type of basketball goals do you want, what do you think of the scoreboards, things like that,” Beilein said. “But they aren’t going to go into those fan-friendly things like what concessions we should be selling or anything like that.”

This is becoming part of the process for Beilein, who said he spent 30 minutes Thursday discussing what his team’s lockers will look like in the Player Development Center, which is slated to be finished this fall.

As for Crisler, besides all of the cosmetic things, this is what Beilein wants: A loud place, something like Duke’s legendary Cameron Indoor Stadium.

“The crowd is on top of you and is alive and going,” Beilein said. “That’s what I’d like to see.”

It also does one other thing — something Beilein and Brandon have touched on in the past. A new facility will help Michigan, which has struggled, have one more piece in recruiting.

"I think it means a lot when kids come in and take a look," Borseth said. "It's like driving up with a Pinto or driving up with a Rolls Royce. If you're going to invest your money in somebody, which guy are you going to look at, which guy are you going to pay more attention to.

"I think we are now competing against a lot of universities that have first-class facilities and I think it makes a difference, a little bit of a difference the type of facility you have. ... It's going to add a little bit of icing on the cake. It's going to be good stuff."

Michael Rothstein covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.