Fundraising For Rutgers Stadium Renovation Yet To Begin
Construction is under way on the $102M expansion of Rutgers Univ.'s football stadium, but the fundraising campaign to raise $30M in private funding needed to complete the project "has yet to begin," according to Margolin & Alaya of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. The search for a company willing to pay $2M for naming rights to Rutgers Stadium "has also stalled." New Jersey Gov. John Corzine and state Sen. Raymond Lesniak in December said that they would "lead an effort to raise the money" for the stadium. Lesniak: "It's been slow getting started but I still think we're going to make our goal." Lesniak added that it "might be 'smart to think about Plan Bs' if [Corzine] could not come through." Rutgers AD Robert Mulcahy said that he has been "thinking about what would happen if the fundraising effort fell short, but has not figured out a back-up plan." Margolin & Alaya note about 80% of the demolition is "complete on the mezzanine level of the stadium, where construction of 852 club seats and 25 loge boxes is expected to be finished for the start" of the '08 season. Excavation also is "under way at the south end of the stadium," where plans call for adding 12,000 seats, a locker room and kitchen facilities in time for the '09 season (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 4/24).
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| Rutgers Univ. Still Waiting To Begin Fundraising For $102M Stadium Expansion |
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