University Times

The sketch review phase of the Bradford campus's new sports complex was approved by the State Department of General Services, and detailed design work has begun. According to Richard McDowell, president of the Bradford campus, the approval of this phase means that construction will likely begin on schedule, and that the new complex will be ready for use in the fall of 2000 as originally planned.

"This is the culmination of nearly four years of planning and represents the superb cooperation between and among the University of Pittsburgh, the local community and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," McDowell said. "The campus we have today is the result of a very successful public and private partnership, and our new sports center complex is yet another example of the viability of that partnership." With two of the college's fastest growing majors being sports medicine and sport and recreation management, the new complex is designed to meet the needs of the Department of Sport and Exercise Science, as well as to improve facilities and opportunities for intercollegiate athletics and recreational sports. The project will more than triple the size of the current sports center and will incorporate state-of-the-art technology and design concepts. In addition to a new arena for men's and women's intercollegiate sports, the complex will include new classrooms, a multi-court fieldhouse, locker rooms, indoor swimming pool, a fitness center, offices, computer and exercise physiology labs, and an athletic training room.