The Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex will hold a grand opening March 4, 2011. The event is free and open to the community.
Doors open at 3:00 p.m. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 4:00 p.m. in the Ed Fry Arena. Following the ceremony, those in attendance will be able to tour the facility and sample food items from concessions vendors.
Wun “The Shot” Versher from the Harlem Globetrotters— whose March 10 show will mark the first scheduled, ticketed event in the Kovalchick Complex—will be joined by clowns from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's Zing Zang Zoom, Gold Edition. The circus will be at the Kovalchick Complex from April 7 to 10.
Parking is free at the complex and on the IUP campus the day of the grand opening.
IUP broke ground for the Kovalchick Complex on November 13, 2008. The $79-million, 150,000-square-foot facility is projected to have an annual economic impact of $12.5 million in each year of operation. While owned by IUP, the Kovalchick Complex is designed to serve as a cultural and economic-development resource for the region.
The facility is named in honor of the Kovalchick family of Indiana, who donated $2 million for the facility's construction.
In addition to the 5,000-seat Ed Fry Arena, named in honor of former track and field coach and Music professor Dr. Edwin Fry, the facility includes the 650-seat Toretti auditorium; 17,000 square feet of conference space divided into nine rooms; and a 6,000-square-foot corporate training and executive conference center offering six meetings rooms and three offices for use by event planners.
In July 2009, IUP selected Global Spectrum, a leading firm for managing university arenas and a subsidiary of Comcast-Spectacor, to manage, market, and operate the Kovalchick Complex's Ed Fry Arena.
Other upcoming events at the Kovalchick Complex include shows by Waka Flocka Flame on March 24, Widespread Panic on April 3, and the Steve Miller Band with Gregg Allman on April 27. For more information about events at the Kovalchick Complex, visit the Kovalchick Complex website.