Big stuff for Ithaca College, and this building's tower is one foot taller than Cornell's tallest. (From the Ithaca Journal)
South Hill skyline grows with construction of Ithaca College events center
Expansive athletics and events venue to open in October 2011
By Liz Lawyer •elawyer@gannett.com • August 4, 2010, 6:10 pm
The $65.5 million Athletics and Events Center at Ithaca College is one year into construction, one year away from completion.
Where there was only undeveloped woodlands on the eastern edge of Ithaca College's campus a year ago, the frame of the building's field house, locker rooms, offices and swimming center has taken shape, as well as the 174-foot tower that will be visible along one of the campus' main walkways once completed, said project manager Jack Brown.
Though the walls and ceilings of the cavernous field house and pool room are in place, the floors are still dirt and the first-floor offices are, as of now, little more than cinder block cells. The field behind the building has been leveled, but turf has yet to be laid. Construction is expected to wrap up in July 2011, with a grand opening weekend scheduled for the following October.
The building will include the 130,000-square-foot Shari and Edward Glazer Arena, a 26-lane pool supported through a donation from Atlantic Philanthropies, locker rooms and athletics offices, strength training facilities, and an 81,000-square-foot outdoor turf field.
Other features will include a VIP area with views of both the turf field and the field house, a press box, a warming tub in the swimming center, an outdoor tennis facility, and an outdoor plaza. A loop road to provide access to the building and its facilities is also under construction.
Once finished, the tower rising from the building's roof will be covered partly with glass and lit from within, Brown said. The tower will house a ventilation system for the field house.
The center will house not only athletic competitions, but shows and other events. Brown said the field house will offer a place for indoor commencement ceremonies.
Two bulkheads will allow the swimming pool to be divided into three sections, and a hydraulic floor in one section of the pool that can rise up and down will allow the floor to be raised to create a shallow end for swimming lessons or a "double deep end" for water polo or swim meets.
A parking lot to the southwest of the building will be completed before the end of the month, Brown said, and contractor The Pike Company will hand it over to the college for use.
The center was largely funded by donations, and Ithaca College contributed only $13 million for the project.
At the building's groundbreaking ceremony last summer, IC President Thomas Rochon said, "It's been a 20-year dream of Ithaca College to be able to do this. To reach this point, in this economy, under these circumstances, is a real accomplishment."
Construction continues Wednesday afternoon on the Ithaca College Athletics and Events Center at the east side of the campus. The facility will include a field house, a large swimming pool, an outdoor artificial turf field and and outdoor tennis facility and will open in the fall of 2011. (SIMON WHEELER / Staff Photo)
here's the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...356/-1/ARCHIVE
Additional pics from The Ithaca Journal:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...ionCat=ARCHIVE