The main project discussed at the joint meeting, attended by members of the Cayuga Community College Foundation, an autonomous board that encourages private donors to give CCC monetary gifts, and the school’s board of trustees, was the proposed Dr. Joseph F. and Honey Karpinski Athletic Stadium Complex.
Slated to sit on three acres of land given to CCC by the Auburn Enlarged City School District, the hoped-for athletic complex would feature a softball field, a baseball field and a field for both soccer and lacrosse. Along with providing fans with a concession stand and public restrooms, the stadium would sit up to 1,500 spectators.
But to make the Karpinski complex a reality, the college needs $6 million.
Daniel Larson, the college’s president, said CCC will have a better idea how much money it still needs to raise after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announces whether the state will give the school a $3 million capital grant.
But considering the costs needed to make repairs in the wake of Superstorm Sandy downstate, Larson said he wasn’t sure whether the state would have any money left for upstate.
“The question is, will capital funding be available?” he asked. “No one knows that answer to that, though the rumor mill is pumping hard.”
Pete Liddell, CCC’s athletic director, stressed how vital an athletic complex is to the school’s future.
“We desperately need this. We’re way behind as it relates to our competitors,” he said. “Our outdoor facilities are atrocious.”
According to Liddell, the college would gain 100 full-time student athletes annually if the athletic complex were built. He said CCC would also likely be able to reinstate its disbanded women’s lacrosse team, along with adding baseball and softball.
George Fearon, a school trustee and Cayuga County legislator, argued the complex would attract more than just aspiring athletes by providing students with a wider range of recreational activities.
“It’s just part of the package,” he said. “People expect it.”
To decide whether pursuing a capital campaign is the best way to help plans for the athletic complex and other projects to come to fruition, members of both the board and the foundation agreed to form a joint working group to explore fundraising.
Citing a need for immediate action, Liddell urged members of the board and the foundation to approve a capital campaign, arguing the athletic complex would help CCC become more competitive.
“It’s something the college desperately needs,” he said. “It just opens up doors and opportunities.”
