Stadium Costs
It’s been widely reported that some sobering news is emanating from New Brunswick and Piscataway regarding the Rutgers Stadium expansion plans. The Newark Star-Ledger has been keeping a close eye on the story over the past couple days, and today reported that some of the bids have come in as much as $18 million over budget especially due to rapidly rising fuel and construction costs. As a result, Rutgers officials are trying to come up with creative ways to keep as much of the original expansion proposal intact. Mainly, if cuts to the scope of the project need to be made, they are still hoping to construct all of the added seats while possibly sacrificing some of the other amenities that had been planned.
I think it’s a little premature to take a “sky is falling” attitude toward the stadium-expansion project, as many people have, from what I’ve seen in online comments. I think it’s a given that most construction projects go over budget with all of the variables involved in pulling off a project of that magnitude. So, if it’s true that the administration is looking for ways to scale back the project, then they should be commended for that.
If the project is scaled back, the one definite will be that the construction of the 1,000 club seats will still be completed by the start of the upcoming football season. That’s important because the cost of those seats and membership in the club area will bring the athletic department a solid revenue stream. Those seats will end up going to the biggest donors and largest corporate sponsors. And although I hate the “corporatization” of sporting events in general, in today’s world those types of people and organizations are needed if the football program is every going to become solvent or even a moneymaker for the athletic department and school in general.
From the articles I’ve read, the second priority is going to be completion of the added seats in the South end zone, although the reporters seem to be skeptical about whether that will be possible. But the fact is that there are thousands of people on the waiting list for season tickets. In May, the waiting list had grown to over 11,200 buyers. The expansion is scheduled to include 13,000 additional seats. Simple arithmetic shows that most of those seats are in essence already paid for. That doesn’t even include those who shy away from adding their names to such an enormous list. That, coupled with the continued press and exposure the program is receiving, tells me that filling the stadium will not be a problem anytime soon. So, with parking and concession sales, those seats should pay for themselves quickly.
It seems to me that the school will complete as much as it can within the $102 million budget. No one is talking about borrowing more money or using any tax money to finance it. The seats they are building are practically already filled. So, I don’t personally see what the problem is.
Worst case scenario, the entire stadium doesn’t get enclosed, and we get to keep the canon where it is. And that works for me.
I think it’s a little premature to take a “sky is falling” attitude toward the stadium-expansion project, as many people have, from what I’ve seen in online comments. I think it’s a given that most construction projects go over budget with all of the variables involved in pulling off a project of that magnitude. So, if it’s true that the administration is looking for ways to scale back the project, then they should be commended for that.
If the project is scaled back, the one definite will be that the construction of the 1,000 club seats will still be completed by the start of the upcoming football season. That’s important because the cost of those seats and membership in the club area will bring the athletic department a solid revenue stream. Those seats will end up going to the biggest donors and largest corporate sponsors. And although I hate the “corporatization” of sporting events in general, in today’s world those types of people and organizations are needed if the football program is every going to become solvent or even a moneymaker for the athletic department and school in general.
From the articles I’ve read, the second priority is going to be completion of the added seats in the South end zone, although the reporters seem to be skeptical about whether that will be possible. But the fact is that there are thousands of people on the waiting list for season tickets. In May, the waiting list had grown to over 11,200 buyers. The expansion is scheduled to include 13,000 additional seats. Simple arithmetic shows that most of those seats are in essence already paid for. That doesn’t even include those who shy away from adding their names to such an enormous list. That, coupled with the continued press and exposure the program is receiving, tells me that filling the stadium will not be a problem anytime soon. So, with parking and concession sales, those seats should pay for themselves quickly.
It seems to me that the school will complete as much as it can within the $102 million budget. No one is talking about borrowing more money or using any tax money to finance it. The seats they are building are practically already filled. So, I don’t personally see what the problem is.
Worst case scenario, the entire stadium doesn’t get enclosed, and we get to keep the canon where it is. And that works for me.
Comments