Ball State makes approvals for new facilities
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A conceptual rendering of the Eric Foss Championship Performance Center (rendering courtesy of Ball State University)
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A conceptual rendering of the Eric Foss Championship Performance Center (rendering courtesy of Ball State University)
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A conceptual rendering of the Eric Foss Championship Performance Center (rendering courtesy of Ball State University)
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A conceptual rendering of the Timothy M. Andrews Monumental Stair inside the new Performing Arts Center (rendering courtesy of Ball State University)
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A conceptual rendering of the Timothy M. Andrews Monumental Stair inside the new Performing Arts Center (rendering courtesy of Ball State University)
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A conceptual rendering of the Rhonda Newport Kaspar Stage in the new Performing Arts Center. (rendering courtesy of Ball State University)
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A conceptual rendering of the Rhonda Newport Kaspar Stage in the new Performing Arts Center. (rendering courtesy of Ball State University)
The Ball State University Board of Trustees on Friday made several moves related to two future facilities on the Muncie campus during its final meeting of the academic year.
The approvals include the construction of a new athletics facility, as well as the naming of two parts of the planned $60 million Performing Arts Center.
The board approved a $7.8 million construction budget for the future Eric Foss Championship Performance Center, or CPC. The 10,000-square-foot strength and conditioning facility will be adjacent to Worthen Arena and the Dr. Don Shondell Practice Center.
The CPC is named after the former chairman and CEO of Aramark, who graduated from Ball State in 1980 and gifted $4 million for the facility.
“We are grateful to Eric for his generosity,” Ball State Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell said in a news rleease. “Eric enjoys a legacy of enriching organizations and leading them to record growth, and his family’s impact on our student-athletes will have a similar transformative influence as they pursue a new level of excellence in the Eric Foss Championship Performance Center.”
The facility will provide office, nutrition, athletic training, recovery, and storage and building services for all but one of the university’s 19 athletic teams. The Ball State football team will continue to use its own facility.
Construction on the CPC is expected to begin in February 2025 and be complete by late 2025 or early 2026. The current strength and performance facility inside Worthen Arena will be repurposed for other uses.
The board also approved the naming of the Rhonda Newport Kaspar Stage and the Timothy M. Andrews Monumental Stair inside the planned Performing Arts Center, or PAC, which is part of the university’s revitalization for The Village commercial district adjacent to the Muncie campus.
The Rhonda Newport Kaspar Stage will be in the PAC’s main theatre, which will be able to seat 425 patrons. It’s being named for longtime donors Rhonda and Robert Kaspar, who graduated from Ball STate in 1981 and committed $2.5 million to the facility.
The Timothy M. Andrews Monumental Stair is named for the 1984 graduate who serves as president and CEO of Advertising Specialty Institute and contributed $1 million toward the PAC.
The Monumental Stair will be located inside the lobby of the PAC, and the university said it will bring people together for both theatre and dance, while providing a space for communities to socialize.
Construction on the Performing Arts Center is scheduled to begin this fall and be complete by the fall of 2026.