Kelly Lyell

kellylyell@coloradoan.com

CSU 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.

All four groups were opposed to renovating Hughes Stadium, the aging 32,500-seat facility 3 miles west of campus that has been home to Colorado State University's football team since 1968. 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.

"We feel that Option 3 (the scaled-down stadium on campus) is viable, and is in the best long-term interest of the university," the campus leadership committee wrote in an analysis that was posted Wednesday afternoon on the university's stadium website, http://www.colostate.edu/stadium

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 million to $198 million or the full-fledged $225 million facility with 36,000 seats through a public-private partnership to help cover the additional costs.

"We're not surprised," said Bob Vangermeersch, who heads up the Save Our Stadium Hughes organization that formed to oppose an on-campus stadium. "We were not given the opportunity to talk to either one of those committees, and that's disappointing. It's also disappointing that CSU will not come out their shell and debate us. If you've got a good thing, get it in front of the public."

The university's facilities director recommended the scaled-down version, which Frank said would include about 30,000 seats with room for future expansion, while the athletic department preferred the full version to maximize revenue streams through premium seating and other amenities.

"I think that's something that can really move the needle, and not only just in the football program," CSU football coach Jim McElwain said after practice. "I think as a university, the direction we want to go, and the town of Fort Collins and up and down the Front Range, I think there's a lot of value to it."

Frank wanted all four options explored further before making his recommendation to the CSU Board of Governors at its Dec. 4-5 meetings in Denver.

The other two options involved making renovations to Hughes Stadium by spending either the minimal amount needed -- an estimated $36 million to $42 million over 10 years -- to maintain the stadium basically as is for the next decade or spending $149 million to $209 million for major improvements to make it a viable facility for another 30 or 40 years.

"Phased is the recommendation that best utilizes the stadium as an asset as well as provides the best opportunity to promote CSU," wrote Steven Hultin, the executive director of facilities. "This is very clear to me."

Hultin said the university spends too much money opening, closing, maintaining and winterizing Hughes, considering it is a facility that "was built for 1960s football" and is used "only six times a year." The field is too small to use for soccer, lacrosse or other sports and can't easily be expanded.

An on-campus stadium, he wrote, would help showcase the "robust facility development on the main campus over the last 10 years." The university also will benefit from having its playing facilities for football, women's soccer and possibly other sports in a facility adjacent to its athletic offices and practice and training facilities, Hultin wrote.

Interim athletic director John Morris, summarizing the athletic department's analysis, said a public-private partnership that would allow the university to build the stadium that will meet its needs for the foreseeable future was the best option if terms are favorable. The phased-in option also was endorsed by his department, he said, because it also would provide "a first-class facility."

School spokesman Kyle Henley said the university would have no comment on the recommendations beyond posting the contents of each on the website.

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