YSU Goal is to use private funds for new recreation center

Fund raising should be complete within a year.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A top Youngstown State University official said administrators are committed to building a recreation center completely with private donations.
"It's the administration's intent and unwavering goal to pay all capital costs associated with the recreation and wellness center with private funds," said John Habat, YSU's vice president for administration.
The $12 million fund-raising campaign totals just more than $9.7 million, all of it from private donors, said Paul McFadden, YSU's chief development officer. In the last two months, $650,000 has been raised, with $57,000 coming from YSU faculty and staff.
Suggestion for source
A university spokesman last week said that YSU President Dr. David Sweet had suggested another possible source for roughly $1 million when he told a group of students that outsourcing the university-operated book store in Kilcawley Center to either Follet Corp. or Barnes & amp; Noble Inc. could generate $1 million in inventory.
But Habat said any money generated through the possible outsourcing would not go to the recreation center construction.
Because the recreation center will be connected to Kilcawley Center at the bookstore, a committee has been formed to consider options for the store.
Students have spoken out against outsourcing, saying it would increase the cost of required books. Habat said the committee is to present a report of pros and cons to Sweet within the next few days. If any sale occurred, Habat said, funds would be used to make improvements to the bookstore and Kilcawley Center.
Bridge funding
Habat said there is a possibility the university would be forced to use $2 million in capital fund money from the state as "bridge funding" to pay for initial recreation center construction costs as donor pledges are collected. He explained that many donors will be making contributions over a five-year span. Some money will not be completely collected by the expected recreation center opening of August 2005.
Because of the fund-raising campaign's success, an original $2 million allotment from the university's capital fund has been paid back to the capital budget.
The 65,000-square-foot Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center will be the first campus building constructed entirely with private funds since Ward Beecher Science Hall in 1967.
McFadden said YSU will be the only public university in the state with a recreation center built entirely with private funds.
The university also is seeking assistance through the Kresge Foundation in Detroit.
"We've been very fortunate," McFadden said. "It's gone much better that we had expected. It's a reflection of our community and our alumni. They believe in us."
He said fund raising should be complete within a year. Ground will be broken this spring.
Plans for center
Plans show the center, with entrances from the bookstore and from Veteran's Memorial Plaza outside, extending toward Fifth Avenue well past the edge of DeBartolo Hall. Amenities of the two-story structure include a four-story, glass-enclosed climbing wall, a sports forum with four basketball courts, a cardiovascular/muscle fitness area, two racquetball courts, a spiritual meditation room with pews, and a glass-enclosed second-level jogging track overlooking the forum.
McFadden said the center will extend across a current parking lot used for tailgating during football season. The athletic department is considering options for alternate tailgate areas, he said.
A strong point of the center is its location next to Kilcawley, where it will help create a "vibrant campus center" and act as a tool to recruit and retain students, McFadden said.