for the station, which had to split its staff between two offices. During this time, in January 2002, WTVP became the region's first station to begin digital TV transmissions. The riverfront facility opened in July 2003 at a cost of $4 million for the building and $5 million more in digital equipment. However, the financial cost of the move, particularly in borrowing, proved to be a major issue for the station, which had benefited for 32 years from rent-free space on the BU campus. The facility had been paid for by $10.3 million in bonds, and in 2005, WTVP was found to be in technical default after failing to meet covenants related to pledge goals despite continuing to pay down the bonds. Other issues included the bond agreement, signed amid a recession, and an inability to secure federal grant monies to pay for the digital conversion that WTVP had already made out of pocket. In December, Bank of America—the primary lender—issued WTVP a deadline of January 15, 2008, to restructure the agreement with $6.9 still owing on the bonds. For WTVP, this was an existential crisis, as Bank of America indicated that it would foreclose on and put WTVP's assets up for sale; to avoid this fate, WTVP would have to raise about as much money in six weeks as it had in six years. It instead aimed for a $2 million goal, which it believed would be sufficient to permit a restructuring of the bonds. As 2007 turned to 2008, WTVP had secured $1.4 million. A final offer of $4 million cash, backed by the pledges as well as remaining cash reserves, a loan from National City Bank, and the Illinois Facilities Fund, was made—even though WTVP officials felt the bank had not negotiated in good faith—and rejected. The banks eventually indicated they would agree to be paid a higher amount, requiring further fundraising, and a tentative deal for a $5.25 million payment was made—but WTVP had to raise another $450,000 by February 28 for the deal to hold. The money was raised with a day to spare. Of the money raised from viewers, 70 percent came from first-time donors. In 2013, WTVP entered into a joint management agreement with Illinois Public Media, the public media service of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Chet Tomczyk, WTVP's president and CEO, was named interim general manager of Illinois Public Media's WILL