Matt L. Stephens

matthewstephens@coloradoan.com

There's no shortage of opinions regarding the CSU on-campus stadium while construction keeps chugging along at Pitkin and Meridian streets.

The project, which shows no signs of slowing and raised $21.8 million in fiscal year 2016, has been divisive since first proposed nearly five years ago. Regardless of which side of the stadium debate you fall, the venue, even after a couple years of operation, will be a work in progress.

I attended the Stadium Advisory Group meeting Monday and most of the discussion was fairly mundane. The project is on schedule, the exterior will start to be installed Aug. 24, the west side is expected to be enclosed by mid-October and the PERC will complete its move to the University Center for the Arts around the same time. Informative updates, but no headlines.

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It wasn’t until the second half of the meeting, when the SAG video conferenced with Nick Joos, Baylor University executive associate athletic director, did it sink in how unique CSU’s on-campus stadium is, and the number of variables the school must juggle throughout its early years.

Baylor’s McLane Stadium, which opened in 2014 and is cornered against the Brazos River and Interstate 35, is already a success. It’s helped budding developments in the river district, it’s pumping new revenue streams into local businesses and the stadium has already sold out its season ticket allotment for the 2016 season.

The venue’s size (capacity of 45,140) and the population of Waco, Texas, (130,000) are reasons Colorado State University is looking to Baylor as a peer institution for feedback and ideas to help make operations of the new Sonny Lubick Field to run smoothly.

Joos provided plenty, primarily regarding parking. It included details about how a local restaurant owner has sold hundreds of season parking passes on his lot for game days, and how a shuttle service operated by the city with costs underwritten by Baylor successfully moved 66,000 fans from downtown to the stadium in 2015.

But don’t allow relative stadium size (CSU's new stadium will have a capacity of 41,500) and population (Fort Collins has a population of 158,600) to fool you. McLane Stadium and Waco are different beasts than Sonny Lubick Field and Fort Collins, especially when it comes to traffic and parking – chief concerns to stadium proponents and opponents alike.

With its proximity to I-35 and larger arterial roads than what surround the southern part of CSU’s main campus, traffic congestion hasn’t been a serious issue on game days at Baylor. And because Waco donated $33 million to the stadium, viewing it as a catalyst for the city’s economy, the city has no problem helping alleviate the limitation of 8,000 on-campus parking spots (2,000 at the stadium) by shuttling fans around.

That’s not exactly the case at CSU, home to 12,000 parking spaces.

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CSU estimates 8,500 vehicles will make their way to campus for sold-out games, with the remainder of fans walking, biking or taking public transportation. Sounds fantastic. And if that’s really how Saturdays in the fall in Fort Collins operate, with Shields Street's traffic spike being limited to 20 percent, we all need to tip our hat to CSU and the city for getting it right on the first try.

But that reality is slim.

SAG asked Joos what Baylor would have done differently if the school could go back and build the stadium. Among the early regrets were not having enough concession stands, bathrooms or premium seating, minimal parking and the school shutting down more campus streets than were necessary — all issues Baylor has at least tried to rectify in the nearly two years since opening McLane.

“We survey our fans after every game and continue to get feedback on how we can improve,” Joos said. “We made some changes from year one to year two and now even into our third year. Some of the changes may not be noticeable to everyone, but the goal is to make the experience the best it can be each game, and you only have six or seven opportunities to do that each season.”

That’s important to understand and is a big reason CSU organized a group like SAG. If Baylor can admit it's project wasn't flawless, CSU should, too, if that does become the case.

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CSU hasn’t opened a public venue of this magnitude on campus since Moby Arena in 1966. Fort Collins has changed dramatically since. There is a lot of anticipation for the new Sonny Lubick Field to open in 2017, but it’s likely there will be a few disgruntled fans frustrated by sitting in traffic for those early season games against Abilene Christian and Oregon State. Stadium opponents will be saying, “I told you so.”

But judgement toward this project and how it affects traffic, the economy and quality of life around nearby neighborhoods and the rest of town should be placed on hold until the stadium has had a few seasons under its belt. If game days don’t go exactly as planned in the beginning, CSU and city of Fort Collins officials should work together to improve any problems.

There is no beta test to learn the actions of more than 41,000 people from across Colorado who will converge here next fall. Let’s not expect perfection on Day 1.

For insight and analysis on athletics around Northern Colorado and the Mountain West, follow sports editor and columnist Matt L. Stephens at twitter.com/mattstephens and facebook.com/stephensreporting.