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>>ANNOUNCER: Now from News 10 NBC, coverage you can count on. This is News 10 NBC at 11.
>>PRESIDENT DESTLER: We will be the recipients of a $4.5 million gift.
>>ANCHOR: A big donation tonight from two of the great Rochester families. The money
will go toward building a new hockey arena at RIT. The money comes from the Gene Polisenni
Foundation and the Tom Golisano partnership. Good evening, I'm Lia Lando.
>>And I'm Rich Funke. Those two men started Paychex together, and they have donated tens
of millions of dollars back to the community. Gene Polisseni passed away 10 years ago, shortly
after starting the foundation now run by his wife Wanda. He was a huge hockey fan. And
with tonight's donation, the new arena at RIT will be named after him. This is a design
of what it could look like. New at 11 tonight, Berkeley Brean was at ice level when the crowd
got the good news. Berkeley?
>>REPORTER: Rich and Lia, it's got to be one of the hottest tickets in town. Too hot, in
fact. If you're not there at an RIT hockey game early, you're not getting a seat. So
when the fans heard about the money and the new arena, no wonder they cheered as if the
Tigers had scored.
>>[crowd noise]
>>REPORTER: Game night at RIT, that means standing room only. For Patti Snell, it means
standing two or three rows back.
>>PATTI SNELL: The camaraderie is great, but it's better to sit down.
>>REPORTER: She is not alone. Just look at this crowd. It's like this almost every home
game. At least Martha Vicario found a seat.
>>MARTHA VICARIO: The support of the team that's here is unbelievable, and everyone
is standing around. They deserve seats.
>>REPORTER: Now, they're closer to getting them. RIT President Bill Destler went on the
ice with some good news.
>>PRESIDENT DESTLER: We will be the recipients of a $4.5 million gift.
>>[cheering]
>>REPORTER: It's money to help build a new 4- to 5-thousand seat arena.
>>PRESIDENT DESTLER: First of all, it will mean that people can come out from the Rochester
region and get into the games. You know, frequently they'll come out even an hour or two before
the games and the game will be sold out.
>>REPORTER: This parking lot on the south side of campus is where they want to build
the new arena. The advantage is that the Field House is on the other side of campus. So they
could have events at both on the same night, and you will still be able to find a place
to park. The money comes from the Gene Polisseni Foundation and Tom Golisano partnership. That
was Polisenni's widow Wanda with President Destler on the ice. The arena will bear Polisseni's
name and it's going to come with a lot more legroom.
>>It would be great to have a bigger place, absolutely.
>>REPORTER: This donation brings up their total to $8 million. They need to raise $15
million in order to start building the $30 million arena. So the idea is they're half
way there, more than half way. The idea is to start to build this new arena next fall,
and that means they could drop the puck on the brand new place at the beginning of the
2013 season.
>>ANCHOR: All right, Berkeley Brean reporting tonight with some very good news. Thanks Berkeley.