Today's Ames Tribune had the following in the Editorials section:
ISU should wait on next phase of stadium expansion
05/01/2008
Updated 05/01/2008 10:37:50 AM CDT
Jack Trice Stadium became the home of the Iowa State football team in 1975, and almost certainly, Cyclone athletic officials since then have debated the merits of enclosing the south end of the stadium.
Most of the time, those debates have been internal and theoretical. But now, Athletic Director Jamie Pollard has put the debate out front and center.
Pollard has asked the Iowa Board of Regents for permission to expand the south end zone seating area by building an upper deck, adding premium seating and making other upgrades. The price tag for such an expansion: $65 million.
The expansion would be the second phase of renovations to the stadium. The first is going on right now with a $19.5 million project to build luxury suites, concession stands and restrooms on the west side of the stadium. The project is scheduled to be completed by August.
Certainly, it's an exciting time for ISU football. The Cyclones weren't expected to do much last season, and by winning just three of 12 games, it would appear they lived up to those expectations.
But ISU, under first-year coach Gene Chizik, stunned instate rival Iowa, and the Cyclones closed out the season by winning two of their last three games, one against a bowl team.
Despite the meager on-field success, the Cyclones still were a popular draw. ISU sold a record 36,000 season tickets, and the season attendance average of 49,462 was the fourth-best in school history and the best since 1982.
Pollard, no doubt, is hoping to build upon that enthusiasm with his plan to bowl in the south end of the stadium. As the saying goes, you've got to strike when the iron is hot.
It might be a better idea for Pollard to cool his heels a bit. Let's hold off on that expansion for just awhile.
It's not that we don't have confidence in Chizik and his staff. He has won wherever he's coached, albeit ISU is his first head coaching job. In other words, Chizik knows how to win, and he's intent on teaching his team how to do it.
But look at this decision as a simple situation of supply and demand. It's true the demand for tickets for ISU football games is high right now, but would it be as high if another 10,000 seats or so are added to the supply? It might be if the Cyclones continue to improve and win more games each season, but if ISU fails to have a winning season for a few years, those end zone seats will be a bigger albatross around Pollard's neck than all those empty apartment buildings in west Ames are for the developers who built them.
Waiting until the demand calls for an increased supply is a logical way to go. It would be difficult to place a premium price on those end zone seats if they mostly will go empty, so any anticipated extra revenue they could bring in would not be realized.
A better idea would be to take some of the money Pollard wants to use to expand the stadium and use it to finally build the practice facility he some time ago pledged for the ISU basketball and volleyball teams at Hilton Coliseum. The price tag for that facility is $35 million.
The ISU basketball programs have been left wanting for quite some time when compared to football. Granted, the football program is the engine that drives the athletic department train, but history has shown ISU can win on a more consistent basis on the basketball court than on the football field.
The rest of the Big 12 Conference has left the ISU basketball teams in the dust in terms of facilities. Most, if not all, have practice facilities devoted to just their teams, and like it or not, recruits do notice that kind of devotion.
If ISU isn't prepared to support its basketball teams as the rest of the Big 12 does theirs, then coaches Greg McDermott and Bill Fennelly shouldn't be expected to annually be contenders for Big 12 titles, and their jobs shouldn't be endangered if they have subpar seasons. Give them the tools they need to compete, then hold them to those standards.
Until then, they're just playing against a stacked deck.
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