Panel backs plan for new building for Arizona Public Media

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona Board of Regents panel has endorsed plans to build a new home for Arizona Public Media, a Tucson-based public broadcasting outlet hosted by the University of Arizona.

A regents committee on Thursday approved a motion to construct a facility in a mixed development located about 3.5 miles (6.7 kilometers) south of the university main campus.

The $45 million project now awaits a final vote by the full Board of Regents during a meeting later this month, the Arizona Daily Star reported.

Lisa Rulney, senior vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer for the university, said preliminary plans currently include a large television production performance studio with theater-style seating and a high-tech conference space.

Rulney said both spaces potentially could provide rental income to help support Arizona Public Media's future operations.

She said the university has already raised three-quarters of the cost of the project from private donors through a fundraising campaign that isn't yet public.