Grand opening for Cleveland State University's new student center

CLEVELAND - It's a destination for dining, studying, picking up textbooks or meeting friends for a game of pool. Cleveland State's gleaming new student center was dedicated Wednesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony, officially opening a campus home for the university's 17,000 students.

CSU President Ronald Berkman said "you can feel right away how the energy gathers" in the new facility on Euclid Avenue at E. 22nd.

After a 34-year-old university center was demolished in 2008, construction began on the $44 million project that evolved with input from students about what they needed on campus. It's hoped the center, which houses a bookstore, restaurants, a dining hall, campus organizations and multi-use spaces, will enable students to more fully enjoy their time on campus.

"Students have really lacked a home here at CSU . This is not only a home they can be proud of, but it's a home that makes a statement about how we feel about them," said Berkman.

The 30-year bond offering that funded the student center will be paid for with a portion of student fees. It is open seven days a week.