49 years of Doyt Perry Stadium

[hammb]

...if you are going to do a significant stadium renovation, the University is going to have to jump on board and invest the money. There aren't the donors out there to fund a $100 million renovation....Have another big campaign and do it right once as opposed to 40 different campaigns that won't get done.
Like I said though the only way this gets done is if the University leads the way. BGSU needs to start upping their support for athletics if they are going to have both football and hockey.

10,000% agree. The fact we had a donor was tremendous but you can't rely exclusively on them for projects of this magnitude. The university (President and BOT) has been asleep at the switch when it comes to athletics for decades. The Stroh only got done because of donors and if they think they can handle football in the same way then we should leave the MAC tomorrow. The leadership needs to step up and make a commitment, not nibble around the edges and fund more half-measures and "studies" ad infinitum.

Are the board meetings public? They need to hear our voice.

Where do you expect them to get money other than donors!? I mean they could commit to the project and make an asserted campaign effort to get MORE donors, but it's still going to be donor funded. Facilities in college athletics are always donor funded. Especially at the MAC level where we already rape our student populations just to keep the athletics alive, and don't have enough paying fans to fund a decent HS program.

[mscarn]

...if you are going to do a significant stadium renovation, the University is going to have to jump on board and invest the money. There aren't the donors out there to fund a $100 million renovation....Have another big campaign and do it right once as opposed to 40 different campaigns that won't get done.
Like I said though the only way this gets done is if the University leads the way. BGSU needs to start upping their support for athletics if they are going to have both football and hockey.

10,000% agree. The fact we had a donor was tremendous but you can't rely exclusively on them for projects of this magnitude. The university (President and BOT) has been asleep at the switch when it comes to athletics for decades. The Stroh only got done because of donors and if they think they can handle football in the same way then we should leave the MAC tomorrow. The leadership needs to step up and make a commitment, not nibble around the edges and fund more half-measures and "studies" ad infinitum.

Are the board meetings public? They need to hear our voice.

Where do you expect them to get money other than donors!? I mean they could commit to the project and make an asserted campaign effort to get MORE donors, but it's still going to be donor funded. Facilities in college athletics are always donor funded. Especially at the MAC level where we already rape our student populations just to keep the athletics alive, and don't have enough paying fans to fund a decent HS program.

Bonds, baby, bonds. That's what Akron did:

http://www.uakron.edu/news/articles/uamain_1828.php" target="_blank

You need a donor component (Akron's was $30 million in private funds) but that can't be the entire piece or nothing would ever get done, which is exactly what happened until about a dozen people mercifully stepped up in the last 10-12 years. The university can also pitch in more towards the overall operating budget for the department, which is by far the lowest in the MAC and almost $10 million behind Buffalo. There's money to be had if you agitate strongly enough for it...just ask the faculty union. The athletic department should hire whoever negotiated for them.

[hammb]

...if you are going to do a significant stadium renovation, the University is going to have to jump on board and invest the money. There aren't the donors out there to fund a $100 million renovation....Have another big campaign and do it right once as opposed to 40 different campaigns that won't get done.
Like I said though the only way this gets done is if the University leads the way. BGSU needs to start upping their support for athletics if they are going to have both football and hockey.

10,000% agree. The fact we had a donor was tremendous but you can't rely exclusively on them for projects of this magnitude. The university (President and BOT) has been asleep at the switch when it comes to athletics for decades. The Stroh only got done because of donors and if they think they can handle football in the same way then we should leave the MAC tomorrow. The leadership needs to step up and make a commitment, not nibble around the edges and fund more half-measures and "studies" ad infinitum.

Are the board meetings public? They need to hear our voice.

Where do you expect them to get money other than donors!? I mean they could commit to the project and make an asserted campaign effort to get MORE donors, but it's still going to be donor funded. Facilities in college athletics are always donor funded. Especially at the MAC level where we already rape our student populations just to keep the athletics alive, and don't have enough paying fans to fund a decent HS program.

Bonds, baby, bonds. That's what Akron did:

http://www.uakron.edu/news/articles/uamain_1828.php" target="_blank

You need a donor component (Akron's was $30 million in private funds) but that can't be the entire piece or nothing would ever get done, which is exactly what happened until about a dozen people mercifully stepped up in the last 10-12 years. The university can also pitch in more towards the overall operating budget for the department, which is by far the lowest in the MAC and almost $10 million behind Buffalo. There's money to be had if you agitate strongly enough for it...just ask the faculty union. The athletic department should hire whoever negotiated for them.

Well bonds have to be paid back with interest, so unless you think a new stadium is going to drastically increase revenues (not likely), I'm not sure how much in debt I'd want them to go.

As for upping the funds from the operating budget that's the last thing I want to see us do. As far as I'm concerned if we're at the lowest in the MAC I'd wear that as a badge of honor (and market the hell out of the fact). MAC schools throw far too much money away on athletics, in my mind, and if we need to take another $10 million out of the operating budget to run the athletic department, I'd just as soon stick with our old dying stadium.

[mscarn]

It doesn't have to be limited to bonds. It can be treated just like any other campus facility construction project. If a dorm collapsed and a new one needed to be build in its place they wouldn't be running around trying to find private donors to fund the project. How did the new rec center renovation get paid for, or Olscamp for that matter? At some point things have to be done at the university level. The money is there; it's just a question of where and how it gets allocated.

[Flipper]

Colleges across the country are issuing bonds aplenty for facilities... it's the new bubble that will surely crash some college someplace when it bursts

[BillyLP]

That was 2007...I would guess that the cost of steel and concrete has risen a lot because Orlando is building a 20,000 MLS stadium that broke ground a year ago for $110 million

Orlando's stadium includes a huge indoor complex and extensive offices attached too. It's an amazing facility, and the seating structure is actually exactly what I would love for BG to have. I think it would realistically take about $70 million to build a stadium that could be considered the best in the MAC, should we have to start from scratch.

I have been to UCF's stadium (I've actually been to 121 of the current 128 FBS stadiums across the country) and thought it was so-so. I would still take Akron's stadium in a heartbeat for BG over UCF's. As for stadiums from the state of Florida, something like FAU's would be awesome at BG. FAU and FIU both recently built/rebuilt new stadiums but FAU's is much better.

Just to clarify, BGSU33, I was talking about the Orlando City MLS team's stadium rather than UCF's. I've also been to UCF's and was not a huge fan.

[hammb]

Colleges across the country are issuing bonds aplenty for facilities... it's the new bubble that will surely crash some college someplace when it bursts

And burst it will.

Colleges are going in debt to build these things because they cannot get enough tuition dollars to pay for it without the debt.

The tuition dollars they DO get are all coming from student loans because nobody can afford to pay for college without going into massive debt anymore.

At some point this generation of college kids struggling to find work after college are going to start defaulting on those massive student loans.

[mscarn]

Colleges across the country are issuing bonds aplenty for facilities... it's the new bubble that will surely crash some college someplace when it bursts

And burst it will.

Colleges are going in debt to build these things because they cannot get enough tuition dollars to pay for it without the debt.

The tuition dollars they DO get are all coming from student loans because nobody can afford to pay for college without going into massive debt anymore.

At some point this generation of college kids struggling to find work after college are going to start defaulting on those massive student loans.

All true, but having said that, other schools are still managing to get facilities funded through means other than direct donor contributions and reaping the recruiting benefits that come with them. I'd rather get BG a new stadium than be the lone voice of principled opposition to the higher education debt bubble.

[hammb]

Colleges across the country are issuing bonds aplenty for facilities... it's the new bubble that will surely crash some college someplace when it bursts

And burst it will.

Colleges are going in debt to build these things because they cannot get enough tuition dollars to pay for it without the debt.

The tuition dollars they DO get are all coming from student loans because nobody can afford to pay for college without going into massive debt anymore.

At some point this generation of college kids struggling to find work after college are going to start defaulting on those massive student loans.

All true, but having said that, other schools are still managing to get facilities funded through means other than direct donor contributions and reaping the recruiting benefits that come with them. I'd rather get BG a new stadium than be the lone voice of principled opposition to the higher education debt bubble.

Fair enough.

I'm not so sure I would. I think I'd rather the university stay within its means (as much as is possible with the ridiculous numbers on D1A football nowadays).

The way I see it BG (and all MAC schools) already take way too much out of the general fund for athletics. I'd prefer to NOT simply take more money from that fund, nor issue bonds and incur debt to build a new stadium. I'd pursue donor funding and invest whatever funding can be found until, at the very least, a vast majority of the funding is secured through that channel.

BG will never keep up with the Joneses and I don't really want them to cripple themselves trying.

[Schadenfreude]

How did the new rec center renovation get paid for, or Olscamp for that matter?

I believe the rec center was originally built using a student fee hike to repay bonds issued for that purpose. In contrast, I believe Olscamp Hall was built using revenue from bonds issued by (and repaid by) state government. The difference is that one facility has a clear academic purpose and the other does not. The stadium probably falls into the latter category.

[Critical Thinker]

The difference is that one facility has a clear academic purpose and the other does not. The stadium probably falls into the latter category.

It doesn't necessarily have to be academic. The Stroh Center works as a theater for the 300 some odd days BG doesn't play volleyball or bball, and the Ice Arena and Anderson are in use every day with youth practices or community events. Still, the Doyt hardly has any function beyond football. The only other events I've ever heard of there are the DCI marching band show and Freshman Welcome.

[BGFan]

The difference is that one facility has a clear academic purpose and the other does not. The stadium probably falls into the latter category.

It doesn't necessarily have to be academic. The Stroh Center works as a theater for the 300 some odd days BG doesn't play volleyball or bball, and the Ice Arena and Anderson are in use every day with youth practices or community events. Still, the Doyt hardly has any function beyond football. The only other events I've ever heard of there are the DCI marching band show and Freshman Welcome.

You forget the Poe Ditch Music Festival...oh, wait, you weren't alive yet...

[hammb]

Since putting in the field turf they have hosted some HS playoff games, but I don't think I remember seeing any out there last year. Maybe they did and I just missed it. Either way they have used it for that purpose as well occasionally.

[transfer2BGSU]

Since putting in the field turf they have hosted some HS playoff games, but I don't think I remember seeing any out there last year. Maybe they did and I just missed it. Either way they have used it for that purpose as well occasionally.

High school football playoff games are hit-and-miss. The OHSAA likes to have the games played at a midway point between the two schools. I know the Athletic Department has put in bids to host games over the past few years. Seems like Findlay High School and Fremont Ross get picked over the Doyt by the OHSAA.

DPS has also hosted a few rugby games and in the fall, you can also find some football in their on Sunday afternoons (pee-wee league I think).

[factman]

It has also hosted "graduation".