Kyle McCarty
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A study exploring the possibility of building an event and hotel conference center on Cal Poly’s campus was released by university administrators on Wednesday.
The report considers local competition, potential market demand, and cost and revenue for the projects. The report was prepared by Brailsford & Dunlavey, a consulting company.
The event center would become the new host of Cal Poly’s men’s and women’s basketball programs, with the option of using it for concerts or other events as well. The report recommends 5,500 seats for basketball games. Mott Athletics Center currently holds about 3,000 spectators. The report gives a project cost of approximately 107.4 million, with the center being completed in July of 2020.
The hotel conference center would be primarily aimed at conference attendees and business travelers, many of whom are already brought to the area by the university. The center is estimated to cost 48 million for a June 2020 completion date.
In the university-wide email that announced the release of the report, University President Jeffrey Armstrong and Provost Kathleen Enz Finken wrote that the three building projects would have to enhance Cal Poly’s ‘Learn by Doing’ philosophy and be economically feasible.
In the email, Armstrong and Enz Finken said that “no decisions have been made” and that discussion with those at Cal Poly and the greater community would need to take place before construction.
In the email, the possibility of starting an interdisciplinary hospitality program that would use the new facilities was raised as well.