A committee of Ohio University students, faculty and administrators traveled across the state last week to research features and costs of indoor multipurpose centers and gain knowledge about how to shape one on their own campus.
The multipurpose committee toured Northeast Ohio last Monday to visit Kent State University, the University of Akron and Massillon High School’s multipurpose facilities.
The facilities represented a broad range in the cost spectrum, ranging from $7 million dollars (Massillon) to $28 million dollars (Akron), said Dan Quarfoot, student senator for athletic affairs and a member of the committee.
“We kind of saw what the ends were,” he said. “For the most part, all three of those facilities have a football field. Two of them have a track, and (Massillon) doesn’t.”
Quarfoot is a former Post reporter.
Members of the committee left early Monday morning and travelled north in buses the university provided.
“It’s nice to talk to people who have done it before,” Quarfoot said. “We were able to ask, ‘what kind of hints (do) you have?’ or, ‘what do you know now that you wished you had known when you were building this?’ ”
Members were given a better insight into what the facilities included through the tours, and a few new ideas were tossed around for the OU facility, including the strategic use of windows to create an open environment and potentially save electricity, said Kent Smith, vice president of Student Affairs.
“View of the windows was something that we had not spoken of as a committee before,” he said. “It would give us more natural light so that you are not using as much electricity.”
Smith said previously that these three places were chosen because the university has contacts within each of them as well as the fact that they are in close proximity to each other.
“We would’ve liked the opportunity to go and visit Youngstown State — they have one,” he said. “I don’t think we will at this point. What needs to happen now is the real work begins, and as a committee we need to start formulating our thoughts and our reports conducive to writing a recommendation.”
The recommendations from the committee are due to OU President Roderick McDavis by the end of the quarter.
Smaller ideas were thrown around during the tours, Quarfoot said, adding that more windows, a flood plan and a sprinkler system were on the list of considerations.
“There were a couple of common messages from each person at each facility. One was that none had adequate storage space,” Smith said, adding that restrooms were a common problem throughout the facilities as well.
The multipurpose center is being built after a $10 million donation by Margaret and Robert Walter. Of that money, $2 million will go to renovations for The Convo while the remaining $8 million will go to the multipurpose center.
As of right now, the only money being used to build the facility is the money donated by the Walters, Smith said.
“Dr. McDavis to date has been pretty clear that we are only building the facility with the dollars that we fundraise,” he said. “Athletics is still trying to get more money for it … They are clearly having some conversations with potential donors.”
oa191109@ohiou.edu
@ThePostSports
