CSC President cuts ribbon on new addition
In celebration of hard work, dedication, and un-yielding faith, faculty, current students, alumni, and family all came out to show support and gratitude at the dedication of the Chicoine Events Center on Saturday, in front of the Chicoine Center.
Before the football game a multitude of people showed up to all commend and show appreciation to all who took part in making the Chicoine Center, which at one point was nothing more than a dream, become a reality. Not only was there a ribbon cutting ceremony to go along with the speech, but people were also permitted to walk around the Chicoine Center looking at the locker rooms, training room, and new offices that were just completed this year.
With multiple speakers, including CSC President Randy Rhine and NSCS Chancellor Stan Carpenter, the story was told about how the idea of the Chicoine Center actually became a reality. Former CSC President Janie Park actually made the dream into a reality by starting funding for the center back in 2011, and once she retired and Rhine stepped in, he picked up where she left off at eventually raising over eight million dollars for the funding. Although, Park did the majority of the funding.
Carpenter said he believed that amongst all of the obvious reasons that people are celebrating that we should also take time to celebrate the amount of partnership that went into making this happening. Carpenter also said that he hopes everyone will participate, from the student athletes, non-student athletes, faculty, and the alumni.
After telling the audience about how they went about in building the Chicoine Center, Rhine said that he believes that the “Chicoine will make us athletically, as well as academically, more competitive than we have ever been in the past.”
When talking to some of the older people in the crowd, he said that some of them might have coached or even played in Armstrong and said they collectively decided “it was time for a change.”
He then gave some information on the Chicoine Center, things such as with the horseshoe design and two levels it can seat up to 1800 people at any given moment. The Chicoine Center was officially opened to the public on Nov. 5, 2014, and was met with a great reaction by everyone considering the big upgrade from the Armstrong facility, which is now exclusively being used as a strength and conditioning building.
Men’s Head Basketball Coach Brent Bargen thought back to the times when the men’s team didn’t have a locker room and when the Armstrong roof leaked uncontrollably and described the new facility as “phenomenal.” Bargen also said that “now, facility wise, we are at the top of the RMAC, when we’ve been at the bottom for so long” also saying that the Chicoine Center provides “a new great environment that is still student friendly and welcoming to all of the people in Chadron.”
“The new offices are awesome compared to the old ones, we are extremely fortunate to have these facilities and new offices,” Head Softball Coach Robert Stack said.