YOUNGSTOWN Yorks give $1.5 million to build YSU center

The center is expected to be open in fall 2005.
YOUNGSTOWN -- John and Denise York of Canfield have donated $1.5 million to help construct a student recreation and wellness center at Youngstown State University.
With the gift, which is one of the largest single donations in YSU's history, the $12 million fund-raising campaign for the new recreation center has surpassed $9 million, YSU President David C. Sweet said.
"The entire YSU community is certainly thankful for this wonderful gesture from this leading Mahoning Valley family," Sweet said. "A gift of this magnitude reflects a strong commitment to the future of this region and this university."
John York is president of The DeBartolo Corp., based in Boardman. Denise DeBartolo York is chairwoman of the company, which was founded in 1944 by her father, the late Edward J. DeBartolo Sr.
Center's features
The new 65,000-square-foot recreation center will feature a fitness center, climbing wall, weight room, jogging track, racquetball courts and a spiritual meditation room. It will be attached to the west end of YSU's Kilcawley Center and is expected to open in fall 2005.
The center's multipurpose sports forum will be named after John and Denise York.
Construction of the center will be fully funded through private donations. It will be the first campus building constructed entirely with private funds since Ward Beecher Science Hall in 1967.
The John S. and Doris M. Andrews Trust, named after the late financier and his wife, has pledged $2 million to the project. Other major contributions include $1 million from the Ward and Florence Simon Beecher Foundation, $750,000 from Anthony and Mary Lariccia and $500,000 from D.D. and Velma Davis.
The recreation and wellness center gift is the largest in a series of donations made by the York family to YSU over the past several years. The family's assistance made the DeBartolo Stadium Club at YSU's Stambaugh Stadium and the YSU women's athletics programs possible.About DeBartolo Corp.
The DeBartolo Corp., a professional sports/entertainment and investment business, owns the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers franchise.
The corporation also maintains an interest in several other companies, including a computer software development systems organization in Nashville, Tenn., and several other ventures in the health-care-related field in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.
Architects for the recreation center project are Hanahan-Strollo and Assoc. of Youngstown, and Ellerbe Becket, which has offices around the world. For more information on the project, visit http://cc.ysu.edu/student-services/kilcawley/rec_center/index.htm.