May 5, 2011
CSNBayArea.com
Saint Marys College of California is set to begin construction on a new athletic and recreation center.
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Campus leaders broke ground on the first phase of the 30 million projecta 1,500-seat ballpark for the Gaels baseball team - on Thursday.
Additional phases include the 50,000 square-foot Joseph Alioto Recreation and Aquatics Center, named for the former mayor of San Francisco and a 1937 graduate of the school, and an outdoor plaza linking the new construction to the existing Korth Tennis Complex and Cottrell Softball Field.
The Kalmanovitz Foundation has provided the lead gift of 10 million. Bernie Orsi, president of the Foundation and a St. Marys alum, requested that the recreation and aquatics center be named for Alioto.
In total, the College has raised 21 million so far for the project, with the remaining amount expected to be gathered within a year.