CSC hosting grand opening for Chicoine Center, Rangeland Complex Sept. 26

Saturday’s festivities begin at 9 a.m. at the Rangeland Complex before moving to the Chicoine Center at 10:30. The grand opening is free and open to the public.

Dr. Randy Rhine, Chadron State College president, said he encourages the public to tour the facilities.

“The generosity that Chadron State and the Foundation received was historical and allowed us to add these facilities which will serve countless students, the people of Nebraska, and the region,” Rhine said.

Shuttles will pick up and return guests who park in the following lots: Administration, Hildreth and Chicoine Center. Signage in these lots will indicate pick up locations and the shuttles themselves will also be labeled.

Parking is available south of the pavilion for guests.

Signage and campus security officers will assist in directing traffic. An online parking map provides the parking lot names and locations.

The Chicoine Center, Chadron State’s $17 million gymnasium, strength and conditioning center, and athletic office complex, had its first competition season last winter, but the offices, training room and football locker room were recently completed.

“With the Chicoine Center, we have a premier athletic facility and it will also help our recruiting. Student-athletes are a significant portion of our campus based student body and having state of the art facilities to support their efforts makes our programs, both athletic and academic, more competitive,” Rhine said.

The Rangeland Complex houses the Coffee Agriculture Pavilion, as well as a classroom and laboratory facility. The Coffee Agriculture Pavilion, a 25,150 square foot indoor arena, provides room for hands-on instruction and demonstrations with live animals, as well as space for seminars, exhibitions and workshops with animals, and gives the CSC rodeo team an indoor arena for practice.

The Rangeland Laboratory and Classroom building, scheduled to open for students in the fall of 2016, has two dedicated laboratory spaces for animals and soils and grasses. It also features classrooms and office space for faculty.

“Students at CSC benefit from the college’s location at the intersection of Nebraska’s major rangeland types,” Rhine said. “Because of the Rangeland Complex and our unique placement, Chadron State College and its Range students are in a perfect place.”

—CSC College Relations