NIU’s new arena, currently being constructed on the west side of campus, is on schedule and looks to be finished around the target date of fall 2002.

“We think we’ve narrowed that gap a little bit more where we’re starting to feel pretty comfortable that by the end of August, beginning of September, that we should be a go,” convocation center director John Gordon said.

Gordon said construction plans are running on schedule for many reasons.

“Weather really hasn’t messed us up at all & it’s been real favorable for us, and we just keep plugging away, which is the key,” Gordon said. “They’re doing a great job for us. We have a whole series of team members that are involved in this.”

The 8,700-seat, $36 million multi-use facility will host athletic events, concerts, trade shows and commencement exercises. The arena features an additional 3,000 parking spaces that will be added to campus, flexible floor plans, retractable seating that will raise capacity to 10,000 and an indoor track.

Arena projects first were approved on Jan. 14, 1999, with a budget of $35.8 million. University officials approved the use of student fees as well as bond revenue funds until private monies were found.

Construction began in Oct. 2000.

Because of the substantial progress that has been made on the convocation center, hopes for the structure to be enclosed by the winter are looking good.

“We are anticipating that the steel and the trussing for the roof should be complete by the end of this month, and we are still looking forward to being enclosed substantially by the beginning of December with the project,” Gordon said.

The addition of an arena to NIU’s campus will help distinguish it from other schools.

“I would say it’s a whole new world for us,” Gordon said. “I mean, obviously, the exciting part is it’s going to allow the students and the NIU community to all get together and do things as a whole that they haven’t been able to do previously because we don’t have a big enough facility.

“I think that it opens up a whole new avenue of new and exciting events on campus.”

Even though construction plans are currently on schedule, Gordon said that because of the upcoming winter seasonprogress could be impacted but only a little bit, if at all.

“Our goal is to provide a very educational and entertainment facility,” Gordon said. “I think it provides a great facility, a great venue for athletics to hold their events.”