The proposed new on-campus football stadium at Colorado State Univ. “isn't dead,” but school President Tony Frank on Thursday “conceded that the publicized Plan A -- tied to raising approximately half the cost of the project from private contributions in a two-year drive -- is off the table,” according to Terry Frei of the DENVER POST. Frank in an e-mail wrote that he will “tell the CSU system's board of governors next week that the school won't reach the announced” $110M goal, and that “the figure raised was roughly” $50M. Frank added, "I will be recommending to the board of governors that I be allowed to examine at least four options over the next two months before bringing them a final recommendation at their December 2014 meeting." He said that those options included “sticking with off-campus Hughes Stadium as the home of the Rams football program -- something he made clear he would prefer to avoid -- or finding alternative ways to finance and proceed with the new stadium project.” Frank said that one possibility “would be to commit to merely ‘maintaining’ Hughes Stadium.” He said that it “would be expensive and wouldn't be cost effective.” Frank in the e-mail wrote that another possibility “would be what he labeled ‘Hughes 2050.’” He said that would involve "a decision to substantially modernize and improve Hughes Stadium and to remain there for nearly four additional decades” (DENVER POST, 9/26).
DEVILS GET THEIR DUE: In Phoenix, Anne Ryman reports the Arizona Board of Regents on Thursday approved a $256M renovation plan for “aging Sun Devil Stadium.” The renovations, slated to be completed by ’17, include “upgraded seating with more leg room” in the lower bowl, a new video and scoreboard and a new sound system. The upgrades will be “completed in phases, which the regents will also have to approve.” ASU will continue to play football at the venue during construction (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 9/26).
