Campbell breaks ground on the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center

     Campbell University celebrated the groundbreaking for the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center September 1st.
     Donors, administrators, and community leaders took up ceremonial gold shovels to turn the dirt at the site, located near the intersection of Main Street and Leslie Campbell Avenue.
     The 109,000 square foot facility is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2008. It will house a 3,000 seat arena, Sports Hall of Fame lobby, hospitality suite, practice gymnasium, wrestling practice room, and basketball-volleyball-wrestling offices and locker rooms. There will also be a 5,000 square foot student fitness center with a stand alone entrance for student convenience.
     A project anticipated for decades, the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center will replace the 900 seat Carter gymnasium.
     Campbell University officials say the state-of-the-art facility will be a major recruitment tool for students and student athletes.
     “We have a lot of recruits that are interested in seeing this materialize,” said men’s basketball head coach Robbie Laing. “It’s impacted our recruiting last year and I think it’s important for the success of our program.”
     US Congressman Bob Etheridge, a former Campbell basketball player himself, attended the festivities. He says the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center will not only benefit Campbell University, but will bolster the entire Harnett County community.
     “I predict to you it will be one of the biggest economic development tools this county has had thus far,” said Etheridge. “It will be a lighthouse for the whole community.”
     The John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center is named for the late John W. Pope Jr, a 1975 Campbell graduate. It will house the Gilbert Craig Gore Arena, named in memory of the late son of Edward and Dinah Gore.
     The Gores, the John William Pope Foundation, and trustee Bob Barker have all made major gifts towards the $30 million dollar construction costs of the building.

Photo (L-R): Billy Woodard, Chancellor Norman Wiggins, Bob Barker, Joy Pope, President Jerry Wallace, Art Pope, Kathy Pope, Fred Taylor.