CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — The long-awaited opening of the newly renovated Tippin Gym at Clarion University could be just around the corner.(Photos by Dave Cyphert of ProPoint Media.www.propointmedia.com)
According to Clarion University Sports Information Director Sean Fagan, the university is hoping the Tippin Gym construction project will be completed in approximately three weeks.
“The date of actual occupancy and use of the facility for competition is dependent on the completion of all work, installation of equipment, and final inspection/permitting,” Fagan told EYT Media. “The University, DGS, and contractor are prepared to work with all local and state authorities to get required permits to begin occupancy of the building as soon as it is reasonable to do so.”
Fagan also said that the University has not finalized any grand-opening plans at this time.
Construction on the long-anticipated project started in May 2018 while an original targeted-completion date of September 4, 2019.
At a May 2018 groundbreaking ceremony, Clarion University Athletics Director Wendy Snodgrass said the project would include a total renovation of the building, which was originally built in the late 1960s.
“It will include a new entrance and lobby to the facility,” Snodgrass said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “There will be a complete overhaul of the volleyball and basketball courts and seating that accompanies the new arena. The natatorium will be completely overhauled with a new combination swimming and diving pool. There will be expanded areas for the wrestling program, a new brand-new two-story weight room, new locker rooms, and a new auxiliary gymnasium.”
The renovations have been two decades in the making.
Money for the $42.7 million project was first requested in 1999 or before — an exact date is hard to find — and the Pennsylvania Legislature approved the project in 2008 with a formal request made for the money in 2011. Clarion University originally announced the renovation of Tippin Gym, as well as the building of a new natatorium adjacent to the Student Recreation Center and renovations to the locker rooms in the recreation center and other “enhancements” on March 7, 2012. The natatorium adjacent to the Student Rec Center has not been built.
At the time of the announcement in 2012, an anticipated start date on the renovations to Tippin Gym was fall of 2013.
After construction did not take place in fall 2013, the university athletics department added a Frequently Asked Questions segment to its athletics website (www.clariongoldeneagles.com), as well as artist renditions of what the renovated gym would look like and a video featuring then Clarion Athletic Director Dave Katis talking about the project.
Within the FAQ one of the questions asked was “What is the timing of the project,” and the answer was “We anticipate a Fall 2018 completion.”
After the project hadn’t been started by October 2016, EYT Media asked Snodgrass — who was the interim AD at the time having replaced Katis in 2016 — for the current timeline on the building. She said the renovations were scheduled to begin in March 2017 with an estimated completion of Summer 2018.
In late Spring of 2017, the university moved all of its athletic and academic departments out of Tippin with the anticipation of a Summer 2017 start, but in September 2017, it announced that athletic competitions would continue inside Tippin until at least Thanksgiving. Then, just prior to Thanksgiving, it was confirmed by the university that Tippin Gym would then be occupied through at least December 16, and later, it was determined that the university’s basketball teams would continue to play in Tippin Gym through the end of the 2017-18 season in late February.
The contractors on the project, which were announced in February 2018, are Mascaro Construction Company (General); Renick Brothers Mechanical Contractors (HVAC); Shipley Brothers Construction, Inc. (Plumbing); and Westmoreland Electric Services, LLC (Electrical).
