Schottenstein + Value City Stores Pledge #12.6 million

Schottenstein Stores Corp. and Value City Stores Pledge 
$12.5 Million for Ohio State Sports Facility

COLUMBUS, OH -- Schottenstein Stores Corp. and Value City 
Stores have pledged $12.5 million toward the construction of a 
new sports facility on the campus of The Ohio State University.

The gift announcement was made today at a press conference 
by Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee.  In acknowledgment of the 
gift, the facility will be named the "Schottenstein Center" and 
the main basketball/hockey area will be named the "Value City 
Arena."

The facility will cost an estimated $75 million and will 
hold 21,000 persons for concerts and other events, 19,400 for 
basketball games, and 17,000 for hockey games.  It will be the 
site for Ohio State varsity basketball games, ice hockey games, 
and other sports and university events, including concerts and 
convocations.  It will have a 100-foot by 200-foot, Olympic-sized 
ice hockey rink.  There will also be two practice basketball 
courts.

The facility, which is scheduled for completion by late 
1998, will be able to accommodate a women's NCAA Final Four 
basketball tournament and a men's regional competition.

"This is a truly remarkable and wonderful gift to the 
university by the Schottenstein family and by an outstanding 
corporate citizen of Ohio, the Schottenstein Stores," Gee said.  
"Their generosity will help guarantee that we will have one of 
the finest facilities of its kind anywhere in the nation and that 
our student-athletes will be able to practice and perform in an 
excellent environment."

Andy Geiger, director of athletics at Ohio State, praised 
the commitment of the Schottenstein family and the Schottenstein 
Stores to excellence and the dedication to the well-being of 
student-athletes.

"This gift is a tribute to their desire that our students 
have the finest facility possible," Geiger said.  "A tremendous 
amount of learning and skill development takes place in our 
athletic facilities, and there will not be a center or an arena 
anywhere in the country that will be more student-friendly and 
conducive to learning than the Schottenstein Center and the Value 
City Arena.  We deeply appreciate their generosity and this 
commitment to excellence."

Chairman and CEO of Schottenstein Stores Corp., Jay 
Schottenstein, said, "Our family is proud to be associated with 
university leadership of this caliber and to improving the 
quality of life of Ohio State students through sports and 
entertainment."

Geiger noted that the university's effort to raise 
additional funds for the facility are progressing.  More than 
$10.5 million of a $26 million goal for preferred seating has 
been raised through the sale of seat licenses in the arena.  In 
addition, other donor naming opportunities exist in the proposed 
facility, including the donor concourse, the practice pavilion, 
the hall of fame/lobby area, and an outside boulevard.

Schottenstein Stores, Value City Department Stores, and 
Value City Furniture are based in Columbus.  They offer a rich 
variety of merchandise including clothing, housewares and 
furniture.  Value City Department Stores are publicly owned and 
serve a multi-state region.

"This is truly an outstanding day in the life of The Ohio 
State University," Gee concluded.  "We simply could not be the 
great university we are without the private and corporate support 
we receive from friends such as the Schottenstein family and 
Schottenstein Stores.  We are indeed fortunate to have such 
valued partners in progress."

                            #

Contact:  Andy Geiger, director of athletics, 614-292-7572 or
          Jerry May, vice president of development, 614-292-2970.


[Submitted by: Von Reid-Vargas (ereid@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)
               
Fri, 17 Nov 1995 12:20:02 -0500]
All documents are the responsibility of their originator.