Kroc Center Rolls Out Welcome Mat

COEUR d’ALENE -- It’s here.

The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center kicks off a weekend of "firsts" beginning tonight, celebrating its grand opening with a lineup of full-scale bravo and special activities.

The weekend’s festivities will wrap up three years of working and planning after the Lake City was awarded the center in 2006. It will be the third center to open since Joan Kroc donated $1.5 billion to The Salvation Army upon her death in 2003.

Local donors and dignitaries will get first crack at sneaking a peek of the $38 million marvel at 6:30 this evening during a Red Carpet tour -- which includes hors d’oeuvres and a concert -- but the public can catch a glimpse of the facility at 2 p.m. Saturday during the dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting.

Guest speakers Saturday include Mayor Sandi Bloem and Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer Tom Malchow -- a tribute to the center’s 10-lane Olympic-sized swimming pool. Malchow won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly in 2000.

Later Saturday evening, The Salvation Army Seattle Temple Brass Band will give a special performance for the public, while the first worship service will held in the chapel at 10 the next morning.

During the weekend, the public may sign up for membership, as the center officially opens at 5 Monday morning.

By Tom Hasslinger
Staff Writer
The Coeur d’Alene Pre