Seton Hill University's Big Plans for Sports and Learning Spaces

Seton Hill University is making some big moves to upgrade its campus. They're planning to build a new indoor sports facility and renovate an old building called Sullivan Hall. The university is teaming up with the Latrobe Industrial Development Authority to help pay for these projects. They're looking at a $37. 5 million bond issue to make it all happen. The new sports facility will be huge—87, 000 square feet! It will have a 200-meter indoor track, areas for jumping and pole vaulting, and even an indoor turf field. This will be a big deal for the track and field team, which has never had an on-campus facility before. Other sports teams, like wrestling, baseball, softball, and lacrosse, will also get new practice spaces and locker rooms. Coaches will have offices and a media room to help recruit new players and review game footage. Sullivan Hall, which was built way back in 1929, is getting a major makeover. The university wants to modernize it for growing programs in healthcare, business, entrepreneurship, computer science, and cybersecurity. Two floors will be for nursing and physical therapy programs, while the third floor will house the School of Business and Technology. There will also be a bookstore, a cafe, study areas, and even a cadaver lab for the health professions. The university already got $4 million from Pennsylvania's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to help with Sullivan Hall's renovation. The goal is to keep the building's historical look while making it more useful. The renovation will increase the usable space from 37, 000 to 46, 000 square feet. The university is hoping to start construction on the new sports facility as early as February. The bonds to pay for these projects are expected to be issued that same month. The bonds will have fixed interest rates and a term of up to 30 years. The university will be responsible for repaying the bonds, and they will have tax-free status, which makes them attractive to investors like pension funds and mutual funds.