Cal U convocation center opening with free events
The new convocation center at Cal U seats up to 6,000 people and features an 80-foot tower with a scrolling message ribbon and giant screen that can show what is being broadcast on the center court Jumbotron.
Skyrocketing debt at California University of Pennsylvania, including $60 million for the new Convocation Center, is part of the controversy that led to the dismissal of Dr. Angelo Armenti Jr.
CALIFORNIA — Four basketball games will be played at the new convocation center at California University of Pennsylvania on Saturday and Sunday for what is being called the “tip-off” weekend for the new building.
Event admission and parking will be free this weekend, according to Bob Thorn, the university’s interim vice president for administration and finance.
“The doors open at 11 a.m.,” Thorn said. “We’re hoping to fill the facility. We’re excited about opening it to the community.”
The first 1,000 people entering the convocation center will receive free commemorative T-shirts. The arena can hold about 5,000 people for sporting events, with another 1,000 floor seats available for events such as graduations and concerts. The womens basketball game starts at 1 p.m. and the mens teams take the court at 3 p.m., with a brief dedication ceremony to be held between the games. Saturday’s games feature Cal U and Mansfield University.
Music, family entertainment and prize giveaways will take place throughout the day. Among the prizes are two $1,000 scholarships for current Cal U students in attendance.
In addition, new, unwrapped toys are being collected by the Student Government Association for the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots campaign.
“On December 4, we have another basketball game against Bloomsburg University. The women start at 1 and the men start at 3,” Thorn said. “Again, admission is free.”
Thorn said the 155,000-square-foot center cost $59 million to build and features a center court giant television monitor that can be simultaneously shown on a large screen on the 80-foot tower outside the building.
“It’s more than a basketball arena. It’s really a convention center,” Thorn said. “It’s the largest indoor venue between Pittsburgh and Morgantown. We think it will be a regional asset.”
Thorn said the hardwood basketball floor is removable, so it can be taken up to reveal an 8-inch thick concrete floor more suitable for trade shows and similar events.
Thorn said the next event at the convocation center will be Leonardo DaVinci: Machines in Motion, an exhibit of 40 full-size, hands-on devices based on the Renaissance artist and inventor’s drawings. Thorn said the devices are currently being assembled for display, with the exhibit opening in mid-December and running through the beginning of May.
Graduation ceremonies also will be held at the convocation center this month, the graduate students using the center Dec. 16 and undergraduates on Dec. 17.
Thorn said the Executive Conferencing Center at the university is currently booking conferences, trade shows and other events for 2012. Concerts are also expected to be held in the new center.
Thorn said the formal grand opening for the convocation center will be held in April.