Wednesday December 3, 2014

Friars Club Builds Center for Athletics, Learning

Youth in Greater Cincinnati will soon be able to take it to the hoop at a new 37,000-square foot facility that Al. Neyer is designing and building for the Friars Club in St. Bernard.

The project underway next to Roger Bacon High School will feature four regulation high school basketball and volleyball courts, a learning center, a computer lab, and also an adjoining fitness center and wrestling facility for Roger Bacon. The new facility will allow Friars Club to further its mission of serving youth through organized sports, activity, nutrition and fitness.

“This new home will allow us to grow our commitment to serving the community and underprivileged youth,” says Mike Besl, board chair, Friars Club. “It will help us reach even more children with sports, educational and enrichment programs that teach respect, responsibility, teamwork and leadership.” The building will allow Friars Club to double the number of children they serve from 700 to 1400 participants, eliminating program waiting lists.

Friars Club and Roger Bacon are both sponsored ministries of the Franciscan Friars of the Province of St. John the Baptist.  Both organizations will conduct athletic programs in the building, which will also include a new fitness and wrestling facility for Roger Bacon.

“We are proud to share our campus with the Friars Club and know this facility will help both our own students, but also many local youth participating in the Club’s rich programming,” says Tom Burke, president, Roger Bacon High School.

Al. Neyer is serving as the design-builder of this facility. Crews are expected to complete construction in spring 2014. The entire project is expected to cost $3.5 million.

This new facility marks the third location in Friars Club’s 153-year history. Friars Club is committed to serving as a place where children from around Greater-Cincinnati with diverse social, cultural and economic backgrounds can come to play, work and grow together.

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