Colorado State Univ. will "move forward with its plans to build an on-campus stadium if it follows the recommendations made public Wednesday afternoon by two advisory committees and the university's athletics and facilities departments," according to Kelly Lyell of the Ft. Collins COLORADOAN. All four groups were "opposed to renovating Hughes Stadium, the aging 32,500-seat facility 3 miles west of campus." A summary of public input on the four options that CSU President Tony Frank put forth last month also was "strongly in favor of building a new facility, with 378 respondents favoring the on-campus options compared to 193 who favored the two options involving Hughes." A community leadership committee "favored a new stadium, as well, either the scaled-down version with 30,000 or so seats that the university estimates could be built" for $180-198M or the full-fledged $225M facility with 36,000 seats "through a public-private partnership to help cover the additional costs." CSU Dir of Facility Management Steve Hultin "recommended the scaled-down version," while the athletic department "preferred the full version to maximize revenue streams through premium seating and other amenities." Lyell noted another option involved making renovations to Hughes Stadium by spending "the minimal amount needed" -- an estimated $36-42M over 10 years -- to "maintain the stadium basically as is for the next decade." An alternative included spending $149-209M for "major improvements to make it a viable facility for another 30 or 40 years" (Ft. Collins COLORADOAN, 11/20). In Colorado, Kevin Duggan notes opponents of building an on-campus stadium at CSU "are not giving up the fight." The anti-stadium group Save Our Stadium Hughes has "repeatedly come up short in its efforts to garner support" from CSU officials for renovating the stadium. But, critics of building a new stadium said that they will "continue pushing their cause" to the BOG. Frank is "expected to make a recommendation on the stadium" to the BOG during its meeting Dec. 4-5 in Denver. Frank is "expected to discuss four potential options for the stadium, including renovating Hughes Stadium" (Ft. Collins COLORADOAN, 11/21).
