Talk has "swirled over the years about the fate" of the Carrier Dome, but now Syracuse Univ. AD Daryl Gross is "busily hatching potential arena alternatives," according to Donna Ditota of the Syracuse POST-STANDARD. But with the "ever-escalating race to build the biggest, shiniest athletic facilities, does the Carrier Dome still resonate with recruits who might select it as their college destination or with fans that pay to push through the turnstiles?" Gross said, "I think Central New York deserves an unbelievable place. You've got all these great new stadiums in New York City and then you start coming upstate and the next biggest thing you run into is the Dome. And so there will be a day one day for folks up here to be able to enjoy and take advantage of those kinds of amenities." ACC Commissioner John Swofford said conference members were "comfortable" with the Dome as a host for college athletics. Gross said, "I wouldn't even put a time frame on it right now. I would just say that there's been talk about the aging of the Dome" (Syracuse POST-STANDARD, 7/1). In Syracuse, Brent Axe wrote, "While I get the appeal of a new facility for Syracuse University sports as the Dome isn't getting any younger, here is hoping Daryl Gross can find a way to keep the white bubble in the Syracuse skyline for years to come." There is "no question Syracuse University is gaining a lot by joining the ACC, namely TV money." It is "financial windfall that will benefit SU Athletics." But joining the ACC also "means sacrifice." SU fans "don't cheer for TV money." The Carrier Dome "may be all that Syracuse fans have left that gives them a unique identity in the sanitized world of college sports" (SYRACUSE.com, 7/1).
