2004_03_13b

Datestamp: 03/13/2004

Headline: Work to start on Ali Center

SubHead: Construction set for May; $3.5 million more needed Byline: SHELDON S. SHAFER sshafer@courier−journal.com Source: The Courier−Journal Construction of the $43.5 million Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville is set to start in May, after being delayed by five years of difficult fund raising. The opening, if all goes as planned, will be Nov. 12, 2005. While the center is still $3.5 million short of its goal, recent gifts totaling $4.4 million pushed it over $40 million, the amount organizers said was needed to start construction. Another key was an agreement among five local banks to come together and lend up to $23.5 million to get construction started. The six−story center, which is designed to honor the career and humanitarian efforts of one of Louisville's most famous sons, former heavyweight boxing champion and international icon Muhammad Ali, will be built at the former KingFish site at Sixth Street and River Road, atop a recently finished public parking garage at the site. Michael Fox, president of the Ali Center board, said in an interview that raising money in a tight economy was "tough going," but establishing a start date has buoyed supporters, including Ali and his family. Lonnie Ali, wife of the former champion and vice chairman of the Ali Center board, said in a statement released through the center: "Building an institution where Muhammad's story can be used as an inspiration to reach people − people in this community, those across the country and all over the world − and help change their lives, is something we have dreamed about for a long time." Mission of motivation Thirty−foot−high ceramic−tile images of Ali will dominate the center's exterior on all four sides. The center design, a collaboration of Beyer Blinder Belle of New York, Bravura of Louisville and Lee Skolnick of New York, also features a three−story circular "torch" suspended over the lobby that seems to burst out of the top of the building. It's meant to represent the torch Ali used to light the flame at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Center officials stress that the center is more than a boxing museum. Its stated mission is to use Ali's worldwide boxing fame and legacy to "promote respect, hope and understanding, and to inspire adults and children everywhere to be as great as they can be." 104

It hopes to do that through about 24,000 square feet of exhibits and interactive displays on the fourth and fifth floors. Each of six stations on those floors will feature a theme − confidence, conviction, respect, dedication, giving and spirituality − and weave in aspects of Ali's life , including how his character and opinions changed over the years. The stations also will showcase Ali memorabilia, such as his boxing gloves and robes and the Olympic torch he carried. One interactive station will allow visitors to spar with a computer−generated Ali. The first floor will house classrooms and other space for educational programs. In all, there will be nearly a dozen areas for meetings, events and classes. The main foyer will be on the second level, along with a gift shop and café. Center offices will occupy the third level, with a multipurpose room on the top floor that can seat up to 500 people and will include a full kitchen−catering area. That floor, to be rented out for private functions, seminars, workshops, receptions and corporate meetings, will offer a panoramic view of the Ohio River. The Ali Center already is taking bookings for that space, starting in late 2005. It also has already developed numerous education programs, including ones with the University of Louisville and the United Nations. For instance, the center is partnering with the U of L College of Arts and Sciences on a program called "Islamic Life in the United States" that brings Islamic scholars and religious leaders from across the country and abroad to U of L. It also has started a program with the United Nations titled "Schools for Global Peace Program," which is designed to help children understand the plight of youths living in war−torn countries. The center also will have a library and archives on the third floor, as well as several galleries throughout the building for rotating exhibits. The Parking Authority of River City, which recently completed the $10 million garage on which the center will be built, also plans a $6 million, two−level plaza around the center . It will feature a 500−seat outdoor amphitheater, large water wall and an expansive outdoor garden, as well as a pedway over Sixth Street connecting to the Riverfront Plaza. Downtown jewel Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson said he has no qualms about the large investment in the Ali Center. In addition to the state providing $10 million, the city's parking authority provided about $20 million in related development, including the land and bonds to build the garage and the plaza outside the center. The center "is a jewel in the crown for activity downtown," Abramson said, adding that it will complement, and not compete with, such planned projects as the Frazier Historical Arms Museum, set to open farther down Main Street in May, and the $110 million Marriott convention hotel and Fourth Street Live entertainment complex now under construction. "All the pieces are coming together," the mayor said. "Together, all the projects will help tourism and draw conventions." The largest single private gift to the Ali Center fund drive was $5 million from Ford Motor Co.

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Fox said the center's second−largest private single gift came in February from a media−production company based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., called Showtime Pictures that is headed by a Turkish businessman, Kemal Arin . Fox said Arin is a great admirer of Ali. Also in February, Fox said, the center received a $2 million challenge grant from an anonymous donor that must still be matched by other donations. (The $40 million raised to date does not include $6 million in donations that have gone into an invested endowment whose interest will help underwrite the center's operations and pay for some programs.) Fox agreed with the mayor that the Ali Center, along with other developments nearby, will create "an extraordinary cluster of cultural attractions with an international flavor" along West Main. "The area will have a new level of vibrancy, day and night, that we have not seen before," he said. Ali Center officials have said they expect it will draw about 350,000 visitors a year, about 100,000 more than projections for the Frazier museum. By comparison, the Louisville Science Center draws about 500,000 visitors a year, while the Kentucky Derby Museum draws about 200,000, and the Louisville Slugger Museum draws about 180,000. Ali Center spokeswoman Jeanie Kahnke said the center's attendance estimate came from marketing consultants who expect it to draw primarily from the region and convention−goers . Jim Wood, president of the Greater Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau, said he believes the center attendance estimates are on target. He said, too, that it and the Frazier Museum will create "a synergy" along West Main. Each "will be unique in this country," he said. "They will be places no one has ever seen before." Frazier spokesman Paul Gerrard said he expects that some visitors to the Ali and Frazier facilities will overlap. "We will appeal to history enthusiasts; the Ali Center probably to a different audience. But empty nesters and the average business person will probably want to go to both," Gerrard said.

Money still needed The Ali Center has assembled a construction−management team that says it is committed to awarding a "significant share" of the construction contracts to minority−owned firms, although it has declined to specify a percentage. So far, 14 contracts have been awarded, worth roughly $11 million; more than a third of that work has gone to minority−owned firms, Fox said. Of the five lenders providing the construction loan, Bank One is the lead bank, guaranteeing 51 percent of the money. Old National Bank has committed about 30 percent, while PNC Bank, National City Bank and Commonwealth Bank have agreed to cover the rest, said Louis Straub, first vice president of Bank One. Straub said his bank views the Ali Center as "a keystone landmark and vital for the economic development and well−being of downtown." A series of events and promotions is planned in advance of the November 2005 opening, and a committee of civic leaders has been set up to plan the activities.

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In the meantime, Fox said, fund raising will continue. Potential donors, including foundations, corporations and individuals, are being approached, and several fund−raising events are planned. That includes an Internet auction of the first numbered edition of a new , 800−page book called GOAT (Greatest of All Time). The book about Ali has a value that could be as high as $1 million, Fox said.

ALI CENTER AT A GLANCE Cost: $43.5 million overall budget; construction and exhibits to cost about $34 million, with rest of money for pre−construction costs, including staff salaries and design work. Dimensions: Six stories, with about 90,000 square feet of space, including 24,000 square feet of exhibit space. Will be surrounded by 40,000−square−foot plaza and sit atop 450−space parking garage. Timetable: Construction starts in May; opening set for Nov. 12, 2005. Financing: City parking authority and state contributions, along with individual and corporate donations. Group of five banks to provide up to $23.5 million in loans. Online: To learn more about the center, make a tax−deductible contribution or provide an online memory or comment about Muhammad Ali, go to www.alicenter.org Donations: Write checks to the Muhammad Ali Center and mail them to the Muhammad Ali Center , 401 W. Main St., Suite 1702, Louisville, KY 40202 or call the center at (502) 584−9254 . Caption: ALI CENTER RENDERING PHOTO BY JOHN BECKMAN; DOWNTOWN PHOTO BY PAT McDONOGH, THE C−J; PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MIKE COVINGTON, THE C−J The Ali Center will be built atop a parking garage. MAP; MUHAMMAD ALI CENTER BY STEVE DURBIN, THE C−J (SEE LIBRARY MICROFILM OR LIBRARY KIOSK PDF PAGES)

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