NEW COMMUNITY CENTER READY TO OPEN

Cape Girardeau's Osage Community Centre, which will open with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting April 15, promises to be a busy place.

The $2.5 million recreation and events center near Kingshighway and Mount Auburn Road will take much of the pressure off of the A.C. Brase Arena, which is in high demand. It also will meet the needs for a place to hold events that are too large for Brase Arena or too small for the Show Me Center. The city plans to rent out the main floor for events like conventions, craft shows and auto shows. It will seat up to 1,800 people.

The main area is large enough to accommodate two full-sized basketball courts. In addition to the main area, the center includes two smaller meeting rooms on one side and a fitness room and classroom on the other.

The center will provide a place for the popular city basketball leagues to play, although city officials say they will continue to have to lease space elsewhere because of the number of courts needed.

The center already is booked up for Christmas parties every weekend in December. Once it opens, the city expects bookings will become numerous.

The center not only will provide a centralized place for public recreation but will assure that Cape Girardeau -- with the Show Me Center, Brase Arena, Holiday Inn Holidome and now the Osage Centre -- will have ample facilities to meet public demand for meetings and events.