Clarion University’s Tippin Gym Will Now Remain Open Through at Least Mid-December

| November 23, 2017


CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – The Tippin Gym renovation project has been delayed yet again and the gym will now remain open through at least the middle of December.

“The project is moving forward, but to help scheduling, we will use Tippin at least through commencement, which is Dec. 16,” James Geiger, vice-president for University Advancement at Clarion, said.

In September, the university announced it would be using Tippin Gym, which it had originally moved out of in late April/early May with the anticipation of the project starting over the summer, through Thanksgiving.

“In a joint decision by university administration and the athletics department, the Clarion Golden Eagle volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will continue to hold practices and competitions in Tippin Gymnasium through the Thanksgiving holiday,” a media release in late September from the school’s Sports Information office said.

In October, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS), which is overseeing the project, told exploreClarion.com that the project was still being negotiated and that a redesign was needed.

“We are still in negotiations,” Troy Thompson, Spokesperson for DGS said at the time. “Some of the decisions require a redesign. We have to go through that process. Hopefully, we get cost estimates more firmed up.”

Bids on the project were opened over the summer, and DGS entered into negotiations with Mascaro Construction Company, of Pittsburgh, whose bid on the project came in at $31,367,000.00.

That was well below the estimate “nearly $45 million” budget Clarion University’s Athletics Department cited in a June 2014 Frequently Asked Questions segment on its website about the project.

Thompson said he couldn’t get “into” the numbers when asked why a project that was budgeted at $45 million with a bid of $31 million needed to be redesigned. However, he did say that this was at least the second or third time the project went out to bid, and he believes DGS is very close to coming to an agreement on the project with the contractor.

After the story ran Oct. 22, Geiger reached out to exploreClarion.com to say the $13 million difference was, at least in part, due to “contingency, HVAC (heating and air conditioning), plumbing and electrical bids.”

When exploreClarion.com offered to do an interview with Geiger about those expenses and the project in late October, he declined.

“There isn’t any additional information to share at this point,” Geiger said in an Oct. 25 e-mail.  “The truth of the matter is what you already know; DGS is continuing to negotiate with the contractors to match the bids to the project budget.  We expect a favorable resolution and look forward to breaking ground when that work is finished.”

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” March 7, 2012.

At the time of the announcement in 2012, an anticipated start date on the renovations to Tippin Gym was fall of 2013.
“Now that the feasibility study is complete, the actual construction design will begin for the natatorium project and Tippin renovation,” a media release from the university dated March 7, 2012, stated. “Assuming expedient progress on the design (Paul) Bylaska (vice president for finance and administration at the university in 2012) expects construction to begin in fall 2013.”

Since then, there has been no known movement on the new natatorium, and the Tippin Gym project continues to get pushed back.

After construction did not take place in fall 2013, the university athletics department added the above mentioned 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 the Clarion Athletic Director Dave Katis talking about the project. It is now known that the gym will not look exactly like it was announced in 2014 including a new pool at the gym that was going to be built is now not being built, multiple sources have told exploreClarion.

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.”

The FAQ also stated at the time that the university made a request to the State Capital projects budget for possible renovations of the building more than 15 years ago or 1999 or earlier.

“The project was approved by the state legislature in 2008 as part of the capital budget bill that year,” the FAQ said. “The formal request for the release of those funds was made in August 2011.”

After the project hadn’t been started by October 2016, exploreClarion.com reached out to then-interim Athletic Director Wendy Snodgrass – now the athletic director, who replaced Katis in 2016 – and asked her for the current timeline on the building.

“The renovation is scheduled to begin in March 2017,” Snodgrass said in an October 24, 2016, e-mail to exploreClarion. “I haven’t seen the finalized plans for what the building will look like. I believe that the estimated timeline for completion is Summer 2018.”


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