Stroh Center to exceed allocated budget

[Bubba Bo Bob Brain]

With many of us not being on campus on a daily basis, it may have been easy to miss this one.

http://www.bgnews.com/campus/stroh-cent ... 963f4.html

Let's not pretend that The BG News prints entirely accurate information or quotations, but it there is still plenty of food for thought in this smorgasbord.

"Included in these start-up costs ... are items such as floor covering materials, cleaning supplies, ladders and other miscellaneous expenses necessary for the operation and management of the facility. Underestimates in utility expenses and salaries of staff also contributed."

I can understand that floor coverings may not have been part of the original construction costs, but then, the new baskets shouldn't have been either. Or if things like baskets were included as part of the original costs, I would have thought that floor coverings would have been there with curtains, drapes, etc.

"Underestimates in utility expenses"? Here's an idea - turn out the lights! How many evenings did our caravan return from road games and see the whole place lit up? In fact, we were surprised the night we came in off I-75 and saw the lights out.

"Underestimates in ... salaries and staff"? Granted, Anderson Arena had been prepared for games by previously existing staff from the Athletics Department, and post game cleanup was done by that staff augmented by city and campus organizations using the opportunity as a fundraiser. Limited custodial coverage was supplied by preexisting custodial staff. With a new facility and the addition of a practice floor, it makes sense that the Athletic department would hire their own custodial and maintenance staff to take proper care of the facilities. There would be the additional cost of the General Manager, a position that did not exist before. I don't know if the salaries of Athletics staff members who were transferred to Stroh were also transferred to the Stroh budget [ticket sales staff, office secretary (s)]. I also don't know what percentage of the potential income was already designated to pay for upper administration salaries, if any. This is all "just" to pay for University staff salaries, before we even discuss security and professional ushers and ticket takers paid to an outside organization.

In spite of my ignorance of the actual costs included, I would have thought that SOMEone in the Athletics administrations would have been keeping a running total on these salaries before proposing a budget.