Robert and Margaret Walter donated $10 million to their alma mater in Dec. 2010, $8 million of which was set aside to fund the erection of a multipurpose center.
Since then, the facility’s countdown to construction has been uncertain to the outsider’s eye.
Deadlines were extended and features had been debated, all while more than 300 donors pledged funds.
Inconsistencies aside, two things are now sure: There will be a multipurpose center and it will include a track.
Ohio Athletics has raised the $11 million necessary to construct the facility as it envisioned. That plan did not include a track.
The General Fee Advisory Committee, judging by student feedback, will supplement that vision with an additional $1.5 million from the General Fee.
General Fee money will also be used to finance the ongoing maintenance of the multipurpose center, which is an estimated $250,000 annually.
“The feedback from students has been, ‘This is what they would like to see in the building,’ ” said Chad Mitchell, interim budget director.
The usage of student fees to build the facility is an apparent change of heart for Ohio administrators.
Jim Harris, Ohio senior associate athletics director for development, told The Post in May that he did not expect student dollars to finance construction, and that the addition of a track, at that point, was unlikely.
Ohio Athletics has declined to make its personnel available for comment.
The athletics department was more than $1.1 million shy of its $11 million benchmark two months ago, but has since bridged the gap. It had raised $1,676,661 up until that point, aside from the Walters’ lead gift and an initial $200,000 donation.
Mitchell said that though Athletics has raised the $11 million necessary for the facility’s construction, it does not mean they have all the funds secured.
Donors pledge funds incrementally over a predetermined time period, and the Walters’ funds come in at $1 million per year.
Internal financing options, which could have an estimated five percent interest rate, are the preferred method for large capital projects, Mitchell said.
“The university has to make sure you have funding in place for doing these projects,” Mitchell said. “We need to identify the funding before we can move forward with the firm selection process.”
Mitchell said the university is sticking to its initial timeframe for use, which had the facility opening by Fall Semester 2013.
The construction process will take eight to 10 months and was slated to begin sometime this summer, according to a previous Post report.
Mitchell was unable to say if the usage of General Fee money would grant students more use of the facility than if its construction were financed entirely by Athletics.
“Given that it is a student request to support student activities, it seems reasonable this would be something paid for by the General Fee,” he said.
jr992810@ohiou.edu
