Rec center is becoming a reality
A Web camera will bring the construction site to alumni across the nation.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The mountain-climbing hooks given to those attending a recreation center ground-breaking at Youngstown State University were more than a souvenir.
Stamped with "YSU Climb to the Top," the lock devices also represent the university's climb toward its goal of raising the building's total construction costs through private donations, said Paul McFadden, YSU's chief fund-raising officer.
"This is a $12.1 million journey," he added. "We stand here at $11.5 million."
Despite the need for another $600,000 in donations and despite the rain that threatened to dampen the event, officials proceeded Monday with the groundbreaking for the Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center at YSU.
In Beeghly center
Instead of turning dirt at the construction site, administrators, politicians, students and other well-wishers turned dirt in boxes that had been wheeled into Beeghly Center.
The event was marked by music from a university pep band and comments from students, university administrators and staff and community members who worked on the fitness center campaign.
The 65,000-square-foot center will be the first recreation center at a public university in Ohio built entirely with private funds. It will feature a fitness center, climbing wall, racquetball courts and a jogging track and is scheduled to open in August 2005.
The two-level center, designed by the Hanahan Strollo architectural firm in Youngstown, will be attached to the west end of YSU's Kilcawley Center and stretch toward Fifth Avenue. The general contractor for the project is Hively Construction of Canfield, headed by 1974 YSU graduate Lee Hively.
Donations
About 530 individuals, including graduates, faculty, staff and other YSU supporters, have made donations to the campaign, ranging from $2 to $2 million.
McFadden credited students with providing the momentum to keep the rec center dream alive since the late 1990s. It was students who pushed for a fitness center, and a 2000 student election asked for support of the endeavor.
Among students who initiated the election campaign were Frank Morrone and Matt Pavone. Both attended the ceremony with several members of a current student advisory committee.
Morrone, who graduated in 2001, was accompanied by his brother, Matt Morrone, who carried on the work for a recreation center after his brother graduated.
"I'm very excited," said Matt Morrone, an accounting major who graduates next month. "It's hard to put into words how I feel about it. I'll always be able to drive by campus and say, 'I was a part of that.'"
His older brother said turning a shovel of dirt "definitely solidified it for us."
Carla Macali, who chairs the current student advisory committee, called the groundbreaking "a great day for YSU students." She announced the committee's plans for a tile campaign through which community members can make a recreation center donation and have a name engraved on a tile. She encouraged students to support construction by participating in the campaign.
Web camera
McFadden announced that another new aspect of the project is a Web camera that focuses on the construction site and soon will bring developments to alumni and others via the rec center Web site at http://cc.ysu.edu/student-services/kilcawley/rec_center/index.htm. He also continued to encourage donations, adding "we are not done with this."
"This is like celebrating a victory with two minutes left in the fourth quarter," he said. "The finish line is right there. We just need to cross that line."