If the heat goes out at midnight on Dec. 31, the Ames community need not worry — everyone will have a warm place to stay.

Iowa State and Hilton Coliseum are working together to open Hilton to the public on Dec. 31 if Ames computers have problems dealing with Y2K and residents lose electricity and heat.

“The intent is to open the facility, but details on the mechanics of how that will work have not yet been finalized,” said Mark North, executive director of the Iowa State Center.

Hilton won’t be the only building to open on campus, said Warren Madden, vice president for Business and Finance. If Hilton reaches capacity, the Lied Recreation Center will be the next building to open its doors, followed by buildings with large auditoriums.

These buildings were chosen because of their large capacity and restroom facilities, he said. There also is plenty of parking near the buildings.

This plan isn’t a new one, Madden said. Because the university co-generates its own power, university property has been the contingency plan for Ames residents if heat is lost during natural disasters.

“The machinery in the power plant was installed long enough ago that computer chips aren’t going to affect it,” Madden said. “It is turned by hand now and will be turned by hand after Jan. 1.”

Even though plans are being made for emergencies, Madden doesn’t believe it will be necessary.

“We have gone through and tested all our equipment with the city’s, and everything worked fine,” he said.

Only once before have people been forced to stay at Hilton.

“We were hosting an event, and they blocked all roads out of town,” North said. “We just kept the people overnight and … then we turned them loose Sunday morning when the roads were opened.”

The university also will have an operational command center running on New Year’s Eve for troubleshooting Y2K problems, Madden said.