The PNC Foundation has announced a $300,000 contribution to Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Center.
The donation will be used for construction costs for the facility, a 150,000-square-foot building that will offer a 4,000- to 6,000-seat arena, athletic department administration offices and state-of-the-art conferencing facilities.
“To have a national corporation like PNC make a commitment to the KCAC is recognition of the significance of this facility for this entire region's economic growth and prosperity,” IUP Vice President for University Relations Dr. Robert O. Davies said.
The KCAC is projected to have a $22 million economic impact on the region during construction, scheduled for fall 2008 to spring 2011, and an annual economic impact of $12.5 million in each year of operation. The KCAC site is along Wayne Avenue, adjacent to the university.
“The Kovalchick center will provide an important amenity for both the university and surrounding area,” PNC Bank Pittsburgh Regional President Sylvan Holzer said. “It represents an investment by the university which, through the strength of its academic programs, already serves as an engine for regional growth and development. PNC values the mutually beneficial and long relationship we have with several facets of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and its population. We see signs of it every day through the many graduates who have found employment with PNC.”
IUP has raised more than $10 million in charitable contributions for the KCAC in private support and federal funding. These funds will be used to match a 2003, $20 million commitment from former Gov. Thomas Ridge to support construction of the $44 million facility.
The KCAC is named in honor of the Kovalchick family, of Indiana, in recognition of the family's $2 million donation to the project.
The PNC Foundation's priority is to form partnerships with community-based nonprofit organizations within the markets PNC serves in order to enhance educational opportunities for children, particularly underserved pre-kindergarten children, through its PNC Grow Up Great initiative, and to promote the growth of targeted communities through economic development. The PNC Foundation receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC), one of the nation's largest diversified financial services organizations.