The film “Field of Dreams” taught us “If you build it, they will come.” But the movie’s Iowa corn farmer didn’t have to raise millions of dollars and convince a skeptical constituency about his plans.
That, however, is the job of Colorado State University president Tony Frank, now that CSU’s board of governors has accepted his build a new, on-campus football stadium with a price tag of between $195 million and $220 million.
If Frank can pull this off without raising tuition, increasing student fees or needing more state financial support, then more power to him.
But make no mistake: It is essential CSU keep Frank’s original promise to not further burden either students or taxpayers.
State funding for higher ed is too precious — and in the long term may be in jeopardy altogether — to be diverted for such a purpose.
Meanwhile, students in recent years have been hit with higher tuition and debt, and shouldn’t be held hostage to expansive plans for football.
Last week Frank that building a CSU-owned and operated facility for $220 million can be accomplished without impact on the general fund.
“I believe that risk is more than adequately buffered by non-general fund resources and such a facility is in my opinion very much in the best long-term interests of the university,” Frank told the board.
Building a new stadium on the campus may well be a better option than fixing outdated Hughes Stadium, which has little to no support from private funders and would require $30 million to $60 million from the general fund.
A new, on-campus stadium could be used for non-football events, too. It would return the “game-day atmosphere” back to the campus and improve the university’s brand, Frank said.
Critics, and there are many, have raised plenty of cautionary points that should not be taken lightly.
Board treasurer Joseph Zimlich fears students could eventually bear the financial burden of building a new stadium.
Steven Shulman, a CSU economics professor, “there is little or no evidence that a new football stadium will improve the performance of the team, attract out-of-state students, increase donations to the academic program or become financially self-sufficient.”
The university spends about $35 million on athletics each year. Football does not pay for itself, even this season when games were selling out.
Roughly 60 percent of CSU’s athletic funding comes from public sources — including a $112.68 athletic fee each semester for students and about $10 million a year from the general fund. (Though $7 million of that comes back to the university in the form of tuition for scholarship athletes.)
Frank is expected to present the scope, financing and planning details at a later date — key points to be scrutinized before this field of dreams becomes a reality.
