Thursday, August 28, 2003

By Bill Schackner, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Robert Morris University is about to sign a roughly $10 million purchase deal for a recreational center on Neville Island that the school plans to use as a collegiate venue for Division 1 sports, including hockey.

Campus officials, led by President Edward A. Nicholson, plan to attend a 1 p.m. news conference today at the Island Sports Center. They are expected to announce their imminent agreement with the facility's current owner, The Hillman Co.

Robert Morris spokesman Mark Weinstein declined to speculate on the purchase price yesterday, but Bruce Crocker, a Hillman vice president, put it at approximately $10 million.

Both parties said the deal could be signed as soon as tomorrow.

The deal for the 32-acre complex includes seven largely undeveloped acres, suitable for athletic fields, which Robert Morris hopes will enhance its growing Division I indoor and outdoor sports program.

Crocker said that based on recent discussions, the purchase could enable Robert Morris to add men's and women's Division 1 hockey, men's and women's lacrosse and women's field hockey, as well as accommodating the existing track program. Robert Morris has also discussed adding baseball, either on Neville Island or at its main campus in Moon.

The hockey program would be the only one in the Pittsburgh area to compete in Division I

"We'll unveil a new logo for the facility. We're going to introduce the senior leadership team," Weinstein said. "Other development is also being looked at."

He said Nicholson would elaborate further on those development plans today.

Weinstein said Robert Morris is committed to maintaining the center's role as a community hub for activities from golf to skating to general fitness.

"Everything that is offered right now will be continued and will only be enhanced," he said. "We will be able to juggle the schedules to meet the demands of the general public and the student body."

The center has four rinks, two indoors and the other two outdoors but weather protected, Crocker said. Other facilities include a pro shop, cafe and fitness center, as well as a golf dome, one of the largest indoor driving ranges in the country, he said.

In recent months, discussions have included the possibility of a rowing center for use by Robert Morris and local high schools on the main channel or the island's back channel. It was unclear yesterday what the status of those discussions was.

Robert Morris has a rowing program up the Ohio River from Neville Island. In an earlier interview, Nicholson said that if the school constructs a boathouse, it could do so in cooperation with Three Rivers Rowing Association, a rowing group on Herrs Island in the Allegheny River.

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