Univ. of Texas men's AD Steve Patterson yesterday said that the school is “'probably six to eight years' away from building a new basketball arena to replace the Erwin Center," according to Brian Davis of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. Patterson also "reiterated his belief the city of Austin should shoulder some construction costs." Patterson: "The reality is that Austin has had a free arena for 3 1/2 decades at no investment whatsoever. You look at the growth projections five years out, to be a top 25 market in this country and not to have an invested a nickel in an arena is a heck of a position for the city of Austin to be in. So perhaps we ought to be looking at all the constituent groups and how they contribute or invest in a facility going forward.” Meanwhile, Patterson is "not impressed with the current gameday atmosphere" for football games at Royal-Memorial Stadium. Patterson: "I’m not satisfied historically with where the gameday experience is. Our wifi is not where it should be. Our sound systems are not where it should be. The video systems that we have are good on some days and not so good at other things. But that’s going to be significant capital investments that we’re going to have to make." Patterson said that athletic officials estimate a new Wi-Fi system at Royal-Memorial Stadium would cost $7.5M "in equipment" (STATESMAN.com, 9/29).
