An Arena Also Rises

The Kovalchick Complex, including a $79 million, 5,000-seat arena and convention center, at Indiana University of Pennsylvania opened with a ribbon-cutting March 4 followed by community tours.

It is named for an Indiana, Pa., family that donated $2 million to the project.

In addition to the arena, which will host concerts and athletic events, the center includes a 650-seat auditorium, conference space and other offices. University officials expect the venue to host 140 events a year.

A March 10 appearance by the Harlem Globetrotters was to be the venue’s first ticketed event. Concerts with Widespread Panic, Stone Temple Pilots, Steve Miller Band and Kenny Rogers, and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, are also on the books.