University administrators may be able to recover damages due to delays in completing the Bryce Jordan Center, the 16,500-seat arena being constructed across from Beaver Stadium at the corner of University Drive and Curtin Road.

The project's contract was awarded last winter but has been delayed because of bad weather, said Norman H. Bedell, Penn State's assistant vice president for physical plant.

Originally, the Center was to be completed in December 1994. In consideration of last year's weather, University administrators were hoping to have the project completed by September 1995, University President Joab Thomas said.

The current completion date is estimated to be late December 1995, Thomas said.

Pennsylvania's Department of General Services is in charge of the project, which is partially funded by the state. The construction contract between the department and Lott Constructors contains a clause stating that the department may recover damages if the contractor does not meet the completion date, Bedell said.

The clause states there will be a monetary penalty -- referred to as liquidated damages -- for each day the project is not done, said William McKinnon, Penn State's senior associate vice president for business and operations.

The monetary compensation would go to the state, but the University would probably share the revenue since it has invested its money into the project, McKinnon said.

The Center is costing a total of $52 million, with $38 million funded by the state and $22 million from private money raised by the University.

Bedell said many factors may affect the completion of a project: bad weather, labor problems, material or delivery problems and changing the orders for the facility's construction.

"You can get into some significant discussions on whether (the factors) apply to the contract," Bedell said.

Contractors can ask for extensions because of factors such as the weather, McKinnon said. It is up to the state to decide if those reasons are valid, he added.

Bedell said the impact of those factors on the completion of the project are not easy to determine.

Thomas said a representative from the Office of Physical Plant would pursue any action to recover liquidated damages.

"Liquidated damages are very tricky to receive," Thomas said. Some of those damages may be compensation for lost ticket revenue, he said.

The University could lose money on basketball ticket sales because Rec Hall, where the games are currently held, holds about 7,400 and the new center will hold almost an additional 9,000.

If the December 1995 construction date is met, the basketball teams will have a split-venue season between Rec Hall and the center, Thomas said. The other alternative is to hold the entire season in Rec Hall.

This decision will be made by March when the contractors set a specific schedule, McKinnon said.

"Depending on what happens, you could have two different packages for the two venues," he said.

There is also a chance the completion date could be later because a "shake down" period, which is a process that involves testing heating and ventilation systems, must take place, Thomas said.

But Thomas said he has known for some time that one or two of the Center's subcontractors were getting behind.

"With such a large facility, it's hard to pinpoint a completion date," he said.