"It's a success inasmuch as it fulfills the public use for which it was built," White said. "I don't think we'd make even close to a profit on the facility if it weren't for the college's participation. If it were built as an events center for the county, it would be losing money."

Although the center was built on UVSC's campus, the building has been used regularly for community functions and concerts.

According to Peterson, one of the reasons the building has started to emerge into a revenue-producing venue in the past two years is because the center has a steady calendar of events that come every year, such as the "Forgotten Carols" concert, which takes place every Christmas season.

Sporting events take place at the center regularly, both with UVSC's home teams and statewide competitions.

The building is also slated to be home to a National Basketball Association developmental league next year, with 24 home games already scheduled.

"I believe the center has done exactly what it was built to do when it was proposed and that is to bring a wide variety of events into the county and offer them for people to come to," Peterson said. "I think it provides a great service for the college as well as the community."

---

E-mail: achoate@desnews.com