Messenger - Vol. 1, No. 1, Page 34 Fall 1991 1990-91 Report of Private Support Bob Carpenter Sports\Convocation Center On June 11, 1990, ground was broken for the Bob Carpenter Sports/Convocation Center, a new home for the University of Delaware's Fightin' Blue Hens and for such official University gatherings as convocations and cultural events. Designed to meet current and anticipated needs, the Carpenter Center will be located at the south end of Delaware Stadium, east of South College Avenue in Newark. The new center, scheduled to open in the fall of 1992, will provide a 120,000-square-foot, multi-purpose facility with seating for more than 5,000 spectators for basketball, volleyball, indoor tennis and televised sports events. It will contain office space for the football and basketball staffs and the athletic program's administrative and public services, new and expanded locker rooms, a sports medicine clinic, expanded strength training facilities, a 120-seat meeting room and three classrooms. The center also will provide a staging area for convocations, concerts and entertainment events; a reception area looking into Delaware Stadium as well as the indoor arena; and paved parking spaces for 700 vehicles. Relocation of people and services to the Carpenter Center will free up much needed space in Delaware Field House for additional locker rooms, offices and storage. Most importantly, the center will provide both the University and surrounding communities with a state-of-the-art facility for major athletic, educational, social and cultural events. The total cost of the Bob Carpenter Sports/Convocation Center project will be $20 million. The University has committed to raise $6 million in private funds. To assist with the fundraising activities, volunteers have formed a steering committee and a leadership committee. University trustee R. R. M. Carpenter III serves as campaign chairman. The center's V.I.P. lounge area will be named the Bob Carpenter Club. Access to the club on most home football and men's and women's basketball game days is the University's way of saying "thank you" to the first 200 individuals or businesses who contribute $5,000 or more to the Carpenter Center Campaign. Refreshments at the club will be offered, at additional cost. At the end of June, the Bob Carpenter Club boasted 81 members. Thanks to the generosity of these individuals, 420 other alumni and friends of the University and the hard work of the volunteer committee members, $4.1 million has been raised to date toward the $6 million private fundraising goal. Campaign Chairman R. R. M. Carpenter, III Campaign Steering Committee Girard S. Clothier '67 Paul E. DiSabatino '51 Brian T. Downie '78 Robert A. Fischer, Jr. '70 Vance A. Funk '65 Richard J. Gannon '87 Dallas Green '56 Robert V. A. Harra, Jr. '71 James F. Quirk '63 Gretchen V. Spruance '70 Robert L. Teeven Harold C. Thompson '50 Campaign Leadership Committee Harry W. Anderson Paul J. Andrisani '68 William W. Bane III John S. Barry '62 Edward J. Bennett '59 A. John Borresen '54 William G. Bush III '49 William F. Butler Jr. '52 Nathan Cloud IV '64 Peter J. Cloud '65 Alan Dukart Leslie Dukart James L. Ford Jr. '73 Daniel S. Frawley Howard C. Giles Jr. '63 Donald L. Gouge Jr. '80 Thomas E. Hall '78 Harold J. Heitman Howard B. Hitchens Jr. '50 W. Jeffrey Komlo '80 Joseph M. Lank '52 C. Jackson Levis '50 J. Clyde Louth '57 Vincent L. Mayer '33 William G. Murray '50 Joseph J.Purzycki '71 Michael S. Purzycki '67 Daniel R. Reeder '86 Homer D. Reihm Jr. '60 Edward Richitelli Charles F. Seitz '70 Paul C. Seitz '71 Robert F. Siemen '43 Dennis E. Silicato '75 John E. Sullivan '72 Piet H. VanOgtrop Leonard L. Williams, '56