Facility officially open for instruction and student use

Yuma, AZ (February 7, 2024) – Arizona Western College’s new Matador Activity Center (MAC) will be unveiled to the community during an upcoming ribbon cutting ceremony.

The community is invited to join in the celebration at 3:00pm on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the site of the new MAC facility on the AWC Yuma Campus, 2020 S. Ave. 8E. The event will include speakers, facility tours led by student ambassadors, and refreshments. A campus map can be found here.

Construction of the MAC building was recently completed by McCarthy Building Companies, and the facility officially opened for programming and instruction this spring.

The center, which will serve more than 11,000 students, features a two-story, 45,000-square-foot building set on 3.5 acres. This facility provides honors students with a sanctuary to study and collaborate on group projects; a food pantry and clothing program for disadvantaged students named Andale’s Pantry; multiple instructional modalities; a tiered lecture hall; shared common areas; conference rooms; a Maker Space; one of the first C-Stores in the U.S.; game areas; and a state-of-the-art esports arena and multimedia center. The multimedia center will house KAWC and KOFA radio stations as well as a broadcast television studio with an emphasis on modern technology.

The MAC will also bring together functional teams in Learning Services and the Entrepreneurial College in the 12,000 square feet of administrative space on the second floor.

The $20.5 million project was funded through board-approved revenue bonds for the college’s capital building efforts and institutional funding. Revenue bonds do not raise taxes for local taxpayers in Yuma and La Paz County; instead, they guarantee revenue to pay off bonds.

EMC2 is the design architect for the Matador Activity Center. Major trade partners working on the project include McCarthy Mechanical, Haxton Masonry, Delta Diversified Enterprises, Yuma Valley Contractors, Pacific Steel Inc., and Progressive Roofing.

Contact:
Mandy Heil
Associate Dean of Marketing and Communications
Arizona Western College
Mandy.Heil@azwestern.edu
928-314-9594