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18 / SEPTEMBER.OCTOBER.2015 RINKMAGAZINE.COM O range, white and black run deep through the veins of every student and fan at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. In the fall of 2014, a new bloodline opened. Positioned in the heart of campus, the Gene Polisseni Center keeps the RIT school pride flowing on and off the ice. Out with the Old – Sort Of For 46 years, Frank Ritter Ice Arena has been home to the RIT men's and women's hockey programs. An intimate arena with a seating capacity of just 2,100, it under- went several renovations throughout the years to stay up-to-date. But as RIT became a bigger threat at the NCAA Division I level, the need for more space also became clear. A grassroots fundraising effort came by way of the Tiger Power Play, a group tasked with finding half of the funding for a new $30 million facility. Campaigning results brought in donations, the biggest coming during a men's home game in November of 2011. There, the Polisseni Foundation gifted the Tiger Power Play and RIT hockey $4.5 million to help make the Gene Polisseni Center a reality. "Just the sheer excitement of a new building on campus for our teams, going from Ritter Ice Arena to the new build- ing…it's been really great," said Luke Mekker, executive director of university arenas at RIT. "We've put in new chair- back seats, a good ventilation system, light- ing, plenty of bathrooms, all the basics that really upgraded this arena from Ritter." But it was the new additions that really turned up the excitement. The Gene Polisseni Center is made up of 1,200 tons of steel, 70,000 bricks and 67,000 concrete blocks. Glass windows and doors surround the exterior, giving onlook- ers a view as clear as the glass along the NHL-sized sheet of ice that's inside. The 112,00-square-foot multipurpose facility — though currently only used for RIT hockey — includes club-level seating behind the RIT bench, an upscale club lounge with full-service hospitality, seven luxury suites, Featured Rink Gene Polisseni Center | | Rochester, N.Y. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF JOHN SMILIE, RIT ATHLETICS The Gene Polisseni Center has given RIT hockey fans another reason to cheer // by JESSI PIERCE EYE OF THE TIGER