UVI SPORTS & FITNESS CENTER
TO OPEN JANUARY 13, 2001
The University of
the Virgin Islands Sports & Fitness Center on the St. Thomas campus
will have its grand opening on Saturday, January 13, 2001 at 7:00 p.m.
The evening will include a brief opening ceremony, recognition of the first
group of inductees to UVI's Athletic Hall of Fame and the inaugural basketball
games.
The UVI "Bucs"
Women's and Men's Basketball teams will play against the Universidad Metropolitana
de Puerto Rico, the 2000 ODI Champions, on Saturday evening, January 13th.
UMET is one of 11 teams, along with UVI, that are members of the ODI Conference
in Puerto Rico. The games on Sunday and Monday, January 14th and
15th feature the resurgence of the Martin Luther King Jr. High School Basketball
Tournament. Male and female teams include St. Croix's Good Hope,
Central High and Educational Complex. St. Thomas will be represented
by Eudora Kean High, Antilles and Charlotte Amalie High. Games will be
played all day Sunday and Monday, with the Championship decided Monday
evening. Final details on the schedule and ticket availability will
be announced later.
The general
public is invited to attend the inaugural games on Saturday, January 13th
free of charge. Tickets for admission to the opening will be available
starting Saturday, December 16th at the following locations: St. Thomas:
Modern Music (Nisky & Havensight), Krystal Gifts & Galore (Tutu
Park Mall), Parrot Fish, UVI Bookstore, Reichhold Center; St. John: Connections;
St. Croix: UVI Bookstore.
The Center will be a highlight
of UVI's sports education classes, providing a first class facility in
which students can train. The building also contains administrative
offices, classrooms a weight room, aerobics room and locker rooms.
A dual, cross-court is available for teaching and practice activities,
as well as two official size basketball courts and a resilient portable
wooden floor for basketball and volleyball games. A state-of-the-art
training room is available for sports injuries.
UVI anticipates
that the Center will become an integral part of the territory by increasing
sports tourism. The influx of players and their entourages for sporting
events will help boost the economy. With a capacity of approximately
4,000 for non sporting events, the Center will be able to accommodate a
variety of functions.
The Sports &
Fitness Center will address two major strategic thrusts of the new UVI
Strategic Plan - sustainable development and community engagement.
As to ‘sustainable development,' the Center is an opportunity to bring
new revenues to the University, as well as to the Territory through sporting
events such as boxing, wrestling and collegiate camps, trade shows, conferences,
carnival activities and concerts. In terms of ‘community engagement,'
events like graduations will now have a venue with ample, indoor seating.
This will have a positive impact on these important family events on St.
Thomas where attendance has been limited in the past because of constraints
on seating capacity.
Among the events
already scheduled in the Center, the University is in the final stages
of contract negotiations which will bring men's and women's NCAA basketball
games to the Center for the next five years. The Sports & Fitness
Center is immediately available for rental. Anyone interested in
renting the facility can contact Mr. Peter Sauer, Director of Athletics
and the Sports & Fitness Center at (340) 693-1102 for further information.
