Contact:  Office of Media Relations, Michelle Fryling, Director

July 17, 2007


More information about the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex maybe found at www.iup.edu/kcac.

With the design process on schedule for the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex and support continuing to build for the project locally and regionally, IUP officials have announced an intention to move forward with construction of a hotel connected to the facility.

“We know that the KCAC will be an economic driver for this community for decades to come,” said IUP President Tony Atwater. “The addition of a full-service connecting hotel to the KCAC will only enhance the facility and its ability to serve the region,” he said.

The Department of General Services is supportive of plans for the hotel construction, Dr. Atwater said. The construction of a hotel connected to the facility has been in the discussion phase for several months.

“There are several possible options on how best to proceed with this project in terms of building ownership,” Dr. Atwater noted. “The public-private partnership we are enjoying with the Foundation for IUP for the Student Residential Revival has been very successful, as has the partnership we have at the Punxsutawney campus for our residential building there.

“I have directed Dr. Robert Davies, vice president of University Relations at IUP, to empanel a blue ribbon committee made up of university and community leaders that will investigate these possibilities and provide recommendations to me in a timely fashion,” Dr. Atwater said.

A marketing feasibility study about the KCAC by Brailsford & Dunlavey noted that the KCAC would increase demand for hotel accommodations well past the existing inventory of 440 hotel rooms in the Indiana area. The KCAC is designed to accommodate 700 conferees at any one time and another 5,000 attendees in the arena for activities such as athletic games, commencement ceremonies, concerts, and other entertainment programs.

State Senator Don White, (R-41st) praised President Atwater and IUP for taking a proactive approach to ensuring the future KCAC reaches its maximum potential.

“The development of a first-class hotel is critical and could be a major catalyst to spur our community's future development,” Senator White said. “A new hotel would be just the latest success story of the cooperative community effort that resulted in the acquisition and development of the property for the KCAC. I am proud to have played a role in that effort.”

“I applaud President Atwater and his planning team to initiate a plan to co-locate a hotel with the KCAC,” said Indiana County Commissioner Rod Ruddock. “This is a win-win for both IUP and Indiana County. Given the unique appeal and location of this complex, it will be a great attraction for families of IUP students. It should also promote extended stay for those attending events, not only at the KCAC, but other on- campus and community functions as well. The growth of hotels into our region should be viewed as an economic stimulus for both business and tourism.”

Already, there have been a number of inquiries from organizations and businesses from throughout the region who wish to use the KCAC for events, Dr. Atwater said, and the University is actively responding to these requests.

“We are fortunate that Dr. Atwater is thinking of the big picture,” said John J. Dolan, chairman of the Indiana County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

“He is considering the community needs as well as the needs of the KCAC,” Dolan noted. “Quality hotel accommodations will enhance the ability to attract event planners to fully utilize the KCAC as well as provide first class accommodations for visitors to our community.”

The KCAC preliminary design phase has been completed and is being reviewed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of General Services. The design is expected to reach the “75 percent” level in late August with the final design expected to be completed in December 2007.

Earlier this year, the agency approved the sketch design for the facility, which offered detail on space configurations. The Department of General Services is currently reviewing the preliminary design and is expected to approve this phase during July.

While owned and managed by Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the KCAC will serve as a resource for the regional community. It will be sited on land owned by the Commonwealth along Wayne Avenue adjacent to the university.

The 150,000-square foot facility will include a 4,000- to 5,000-seat arena; administrative offices for IUP’s John P. Murtha Institute for Homeland Security; athletic department administration offices; the 650-seat Christine Toretti auditorium, and state-of-the-art conference and convention space.

Groundbreaking for the facility will take place in spring 2008, with occupancy planned for early 2011.

The KCAC Commission and KCAC Steering Committee, composed of university and community leaders, are working to provide broad overall direction for the KCAC. The KCAC Steering Committee is divided into five subcommittees, focused upon land acquisition, design and construction; marketing and community relations; operations and management and fiscal issues.

“The Commission and Steering Committee have been working diligently to advance the project,” said Dr. Atwater, chair of the KCAC Commission. “As we move closer to groundbreaking in spring 2008, the momentum and excitement for the project continues to build, and the idea of a hotel connected to the facility only enhances the plans for this facility,” he said.

The university is at halfway to the goal of its “Indiana Initiative,” the $20 million fundraising project for the KCAC.

“The Indiana Initiative” part of a larger partnership among the Borough of Indiana, Downtown Indiana Inc., Indiana County, and IUP termed “Renaissance Indiana.”

Renaissance Indiana, in addition to the KCAC, includes the following projects totaling more than $338 million in community improvements: IUP Student Residential Revival ($250 million housing project); new parking garage on Church and Eighth Streets; streetscapes; Phase I along Philadelphia Street and North Seventh Street; Phase II along Wayne Avenue and South Seventh Street; single-family housing development (conversion of rental properties to ownership) through the Commonwealth’s Elm Street program and townhouses and loft apartment development along Wayne Avenue for graduate and married student housing.

The Kovalchick family has pledged a minimum of $2 million of the Indiana Initiative’s $20 million campaign to raise funds for facility’s construction. In recognition of this gift, in March, the IUP Council of Trustees approved naming the building in the family’s honor.

The Indiana Initiative is required to match a 2003 $20 million commitment from former Governor Thomas Ridge to support construction of the $41 million facility.

In addition to the Kovalchick family and other gifts from businesses and individuals, IUP also has received federal funds for The Indiana Initiative through the leadership of Congressman John P. Murtha.

The land purchase for the facility was made possible through the efforts of a coalition of community groups: Indiana Borough, White Township, Indiana County Development Corporation and the Indiana County Board of Commissioners. These groups matched Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell’s 2003 $5 million commitment for the $10 million land purchase agreement. The land acquisition was finalized on Jan. 9.

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