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ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends are invited to celebrate the start of construction of the new Schar Center at a ceremonial groundbreaking as part of Homecoming weekend events. University officials, trustees and the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ community will gather at the construction site adjacent to Hunt Softball Park on North Williamson Avenue at 5:15 p.m., Friday, Oct. 21. The groundbreaking will include remarks from Board of Trustees Chair Kerrii Anderson, President Leo M. Lambert and Athletics Director Dave Blank. Many of the project donors will be at the ceremony and take part in the groundbreaking. 

On hand will be the Fire Of The Carolinas Marching Band, Phoenix cheer teams and student athletes and members of several ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ alumni and advisory boards. Commemorative “Rally Towels” will be given to those in attendance to mark the event. 

​The 161,000-square-foot Schar Center will be a 5,400-seat athletics and event venue that will provide a large gathering space for a wide variety of major campus events such as convocations and concerts, and also serve as the home for Phoenix basketball and volleyball programs. Named for ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ parents Dwight and Martha Schar P’16, P’19, , the multipurpose center is being built by Rentenbach Constructors Inc., with site clearing and preliminary construction work now underway. 

Along with the main arena that includes multiple suites, Schar Center will include two practice courts, home and visitors locker rooms and weight room. The concourse level will feature a multipurpose hospitality room available for a variety of events and gatherings, and the upper level will include athletics department offices and conference rooms. 

Schar Center is a key capital project envisioned in ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s strategic plan, the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Commitment. Along with the key financial support from the Schars and many other donors for the facility itself, a gift from Furman Moseley ’56 and his wife, Susan, which is part of the historic Cable family homestead adjacent to the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ campus.