Kelly Lyell

kellylyell@coloradoan.com

The public discussion surrounding CSU's proposal to build an on-campus stadium isn't over yet.

But it is being framed in a new way by Colorado State University President Tony Frank, who put forth four options to be publicly vetted over the next two months.

The university already has spent $6.5 million on the project that has polarized the university and area residents since it was first proposed nearly three years ago.

Frank told stakeholders and university employees on Thursday that fundraising for a proposed $254 million stadium on the southwest side of the university's main campus had fallen well short of its October goal.

But in the same lengthy email, Frank reiterated the concerns that led him to support the project in the first place.

Frank, CSU's president since 2009, doesn't want to spend money earmarked for academics on a football stadium, either on campus or off. There has been little interest among donors, he said, to contribute to renovations at Hughes Stadium, the 32,500-seat facility 3 miles west of the university's main campus that opened in 1968. Hughes would need significant improvements to generate new revenue needed to issue bonds to pay for that work. Otherwise, any bonds used to finance work at Hughes would put money from the university's general fund at risk.

But Frank also wrote that CSU should strive for a level of excellence in its athletic programs that matches that of its academic programs.

"Whatever one thinks of the popularity of sports in American culture, factually, sports are highly visible," Frank said. "For an institution of great academic quality in a wonderful location priced to be an exceptional educational value, visibility is a key element in our success."

About $50 million — less than half of the $110 million goal — has been raised in private donations for an on-campus stadium, Frank said.

He will not ask the Board of Governors at its meeting next week to approve a financing plan for the project. Instead, he'll ask the board to give him an additional two months to further study "at least four options" before making a final recommendation to the at the board's December meeting in Denver.

Frank, through a CSU spokesman, said he would have no further comment until the Board of Governors meeting. Former CSU athletic director Jack Graham, who continued to push for an on-campus stadium even after he was fired by Frank in August, did not respond to messages left on his cellphone. Football coach Jim McElwain, who was traveling with his team to Boston College for a game Saturday, was not available for comment.

Two of the options Frank put forth involve renovations and improvements at Hughes Stadium, situated on a 162-acre site on the west side of Fort Collins just below Horsetooth Reservoir's Dixon Canyon Dam. Two other options involve construction of a new stadium on campus that Frank said could be used not only for home football games but also for "lacrosse, soccer, commencements, convocations and the like."

If the Board of Governors approves his recommendation next week to spend an additional two months studying these options, Frank said he wants to prepare a written analysis of each "comparing the costs, philanthropic potential, revenue bond expectations, general fund impact, capacity and some of the objective and subjective advantages of each option."

Public feedback on each option will be actively sought, he said, through a link on the university's stadium website, colostate.edu/stadium, and he anticipates asking for additional feedback from community and campus leadership committees.

CSU's operating budget for the Fort Collins campus for the 2013-14 fiscal year was $850.6 million, according to the school's annual accountability report. The budget for the university's athletic department and its 16 varsity sports programs was $33.4 million, according to a financial report Frank presented to the Board of Governors in August. The university provided the athletic department with $9.4 million from the general fund and $5.3 million in student fees, and received $7.3 million back from athletics to pay for tuition, fees and dormitory housing for athletes on scholarship.

City Councilman Wade Troxell, who is an associate dean in CSU's College of Engineering and former CSU football player, said Frank is to be congratulated for "taking a more circumspect approach" on the stadium issue. A poll commissioned by an anti-stadium group and a Coloradoan survey in July both found that about 60 percent of Fort Collins residents were opposed to building a new stadium on campus.

"I can see the benefit of an on-campus stadium, but not to the point of being blinded and not seeing the value in what you already have," Troxell said.

Bob Vangermeersch, who heads up the Save Our Stadium Hughes group that formed in opposition to building a new stadium, thinks much can be done to enhance the current stadium and make it viable for long-term use.

"We see some real value in making that a destination," he said.

And Tyler Shannon, a leader of the Be Bold group that formed in support of a new on-campus stadium, says his organization will continue "to do what we can to support Tony moving forward and getting a new stadium on campus."

Follow reporter Kelly Lyell at twitter.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.

Public input

CSU President Tony Frank said he'll seek feedback from a community leadership team and a campus leadership committee made up of faculty, staff and students on the four stadium options he wants to explore further over the next two months once he receives approval from the Board of Governors to do so. There also will be opportunities for the public to provide its input on the university's stadium website, colostate.edu/stadium/

Timeline

CSU President Tony Frank will ask the Board of Governors on Thursday, Oct. 2, for permission to further study the four stadium options he's put forth before making a final recommendation to the board at its Dec. 4-5 meeting in Denver.