VCU AD Ed McLaughlin said that the school's $25M basketball practice facility "will be paid for" with $14.5M in private donations and $10.5M from "reallocating part of student fees that are being used to pay off part of the debt on the Siegel Center," according to a front-page piece by Pearrell & Kapsidelis of the RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH. McLaughlin, announcing plans for the facility yesterday, said that the fees will be "redirected once the Siegel Center debt is retired" in '16. He added that student fees will "not be increased and no state funds will be used." Pearrell & Kapsidelis note the look of the two-story, 60,000-square-foot building "won't be available until after the design/build team is selected at the end of March," but it will "house two practice courts -- one each for men’s and women’s basketball." McLaughlin said that construction is "expected to begin in the spring," and that it likely will "be completed in about 15 months." VCU Senior Public Relations Specialist Michael Porter said that the fee revenue "allocated to the Siegel Center debt service" is about $1.244M annually, representing 6.8% of the "university fee revenue the athletics department receives." Porter said both the men’s and women’s basketball programs “have done a lot for VCU’s national image and ability to attract students. So we ultimately decided it was the right thing to do" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 3/11).
