Bye, bye bearcat: Iconic statue going to storage

Editor-In-Chief

The iconic bearcat statue in front of Fifth Third Arena will be put into storage on March 6, due to the upcoming construction of the indoor practice facility.

According to a University of Cincinnati (UC) press release, the statue's removal will be temporary until the new athletic facility is completed in August 2024. Students set to graduate in the three upcoming semesters are advised to get their portrait taken at the site before the statue heads to storage.

Despite the temporary storage, the figure will be rehomed to a “new location in the same vicinity.”

The new indoor practice facility will take the place of the temporary white bubble that currently lies on the Sheakley Athletic Complex (SAC). The project is set to include strength and conditioning, locker rooms, physical therapy, offices, team meeting rooms and more.

The project will cost $18 million to build, according to the UC Board of Trustees (BOT) Capital Project in Design and Construction. It is part of the Day One Ready financial campaign.

Thanks to the recently announced Total Quality Logistics (TQL) sponsorship with UC Athletics, that fundraising campaign is over four-fifths complete, according to John Cunningham, director of athletics at UC.

The money that created the partnership between UC Athletics and TQL has “direct support of a brand-new facility.”

"Our Day One Ready Campaign is a $100 million fundraising campaign, which now has raised north of $80 million in commitments,” Cunningham said on Tuesday. “At the center of that campaign is a signature facility, a best-in-class practice facility, and a sports performance center. That facility breaks ground this winter, and this type of corporate support and buy-in from TQL and others makes that happen."

No certain construction date has been announced. 

Editor-In-Chief

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