CWNC honors Rooneys
CRANBERRY TWP — Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School will honor Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney and his wife, Patricia, by naming some pending upgrades after them.
The soon-to-be-upgraded athletic practice area will be named Ambassador Dan Rooney Athletic Complex and the school library will be named Patricia Rooney Library. Both projects are part of the school’s growth initiative.
Dan Rooney is an alumnus of the school, graduating in the Class of 1950.
“I think it’s great,” Principal Luke Crawford said. “He (Rooney) has done a lot for the city of Pittsburgh, but he also served our nation.”
The initiative was led by the school’s board of directors, including Steelers general manager and North Catholic alumnus Kevin Colbert, a member of the Class of 1975.
“Mr. and Mrs. Rooney have touched and influenced so many lives in the areas of education, civic leadership and athletics, that it is only appropriate that we try to honor them with these recognitions,” Colbert said in a news release.
Alumni and family friends also helped bring about the honor.
Phase One of the school’s growth initiative will enhance the school’s library services by expanding student access to technology.
Students currently are given personal laptops to work on for their four years of high school. Freshmen work with Microsoft Surface Pros.
Crawford said he wants students to have more access to computers for students to do multiple projects.
“We’re hoping the library can become the technological hub of the school,” he said.
Contributions also will enable the school’s student government to participate in leadership development programs throughout the year.
Crawford said the honor was influenced by Dan Rooney’s ambassadorship to Ireland from 2009 to 2012.
Phase One also will include an upgrade of the current CWNC athletic practice fields, including regrading and adding irrigation, drainage and new sod.
The enhancements will aim for improved practice and playing surfaces for North Catholic football, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls lacrosse, baseball and softball teams as well as the recently established CWNC marching band.
Crawford said one the long-term plans for the area is to construct a new football stadium for the school with artificial turf.
“Right now, we’re focused on the immediate needs of the different sports teams,” he said. “That field area was laid, but not properly finished during the initial construction.”
Costs for either project for Phase One of the initiative were not disclosed. Construction for the upgrades is set to start Nov. 1. Crawford said the project will be completed in about “a month to a month and a half’s time” if weather conditions are favorable.
He also said the school is looking for a date the Rooneys would be available to visit for a dedication ceremony soon after the fields upgrades’ completion.
