Montana State University’s president explains how they’re financing the thing.
… Asked what would happen if ticket sales weren’t enough to cover MSU’s debt, Cruzado said MSU was taking every precaution in its financial plan, but the details are still being worked out…
Asked what would happen if private fundraising fell short, she said, “Failure is not an option.”…
October 10th, 2010 at 11:18AM
“Cruzado has agreed that the university would match up to $4 million with its financing, to be paid back from ticket sales”
and
“under the state law allowing universities to lease stadiums to their foundations for expansion, only private dollars – no state money or student tuition or fees – can legally be used for the project”
These statements would seem to be contradictory.
October 10th, 2010 at 11:21AM
Hadn’t even noticed that, david.
October 10th, 2010 at 12:22PM
Actually, there are some rays of hope in this story. Cruzado rejected a $16M plan with the usual big-ticket items for the $8M plan and does not seem to be taking the usual route of soaking students through increased fees.
$8M for a school that actually fills its stadium is pretty reasonable. Compare that to the $45M that a Famous Eastern University paid in 1998 for its stadium (http://www.princeton.edu/pr/news/98/q3/0916-stadium.htm) which would be ca.$59M today adjusted for inflation. Save for several weekends each fall when it is no more than half full, this edifice sits generally empty.
October 10th, 2010 at 1:11PM
Well, MSU is not taking the usual route yet. The school fills its stadium now, but there’s no assurance it will in the future. When things get difficult, and they almost certainly will, the school will probably soak the students.
October 10th, 2010 at 8:57PM
This is off-topic, but I was just linking something at another blog…and I thought that because of your great love of PowerPoint, UD, you might enjoy this:
Romance: a Boston Consulting Group analysis