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PARKERSBURG - A new fitness center, the first step in a sweeping overhaul and expansion of Parkersburg Catholic High School over the next 10 years, will be officially dedicated in a 30-minute ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Thursday by Bishop Michael. J. Bransfield of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

Named the St. Sebastian Center for the patron saint of athletes, the 3,400 square-foot free-standing structure will house a weight room with cardio and free weights as well as restrooms and a locker room.

The weight room replaces an obsolete one that had been in the school's boiler room in the basement, while the restrooms and locker room eventually will be used by visiting teams playing games at Catholic.

The St. Sebastian Center, the brainchild of Greg Black - who had sons Vince, Nate and Luke star in football at PCHS - is the first completed step in an ongoing $5.2 million Parkersburg Catholic capital campaign project that will ultimately result in new up-to-date science labs/classrooms with additional space for art and music instruction, a new, larger chapel and more administrative space along with a redesigned main school entrance, and a total renovation of the interior of the school building, including infrastructure, with upgrades and code compliance.

''We've been working on getting this (fitness center) for eight years now,'' said Skip Roedersheimer, development director for Parkersburg Catholic Schools. ''We wanted to get this first phase done and use it as kind of a springboard into the bigger projects we want to do.''

A total of $250,000 was raised initially for the fitness center, with another $400,000 of the near-$700,000 price tag coming from the capital campaign, co-chaired by Tom and Leta McCarty.

''It was Greg's initial intent to give us a state-of-the-art facility, and we just kind of carried through with it,'' said Roedersheimer, who added ''the Christy family and the Strcula family were two of the original families that donated to the project.''

The architect of the fitness center is Adam Krason, a 1993 PCHS graduate who works for ZMM, Inc. of Charleston, the contractor of PC's capital improvement project. ''As an alumnus, it is exciting to see the progress that is being made here,'' said Krason.

''The new facility fulfills a promise to the Parkersburg Catholic community that was made nearly 10 years ago when many of the funds for the fitness center were raised,'' said Roedersheimer. ''The fundraising to date demonstrates the commitment of the local community to ensure the future success of Catholic education in the Mid-Ohio Valley.''

For PCHS principal Marie Held, the new fitness center ''was a facility the kids really need to have and deserve to have, and I know they're really going to appreciate having it.''

Catholic senior Lindsey Fasching, 2009-10 student body president who played volleyball for the Crusaders, called the whole capital campaign ''a great project that not only students will benefit from, but Parkersburg Catholic alumni and even the families of the students. So it's a fantastic project, and we're all looking forward to what's still to come.''

Anyone interested in contributing to the capital campaign or having any questions about it, can contact Roedersheimer at (304) 428-7528 or e-mail him at pscf@pchs1.com