No Taxes, Fees, Green Space Or Loss Of Mountain View For CSU’s New Stadium

FORT COLLINS — No state fees or taxes will be used to pay for Colorado State University’s proposed new on-campus stadium. The stadium, if built, also will not go up on existing green space or spoil anyone’s view of the mountains.

CSU president Tony Frank on Monday issued other guidelines while also announcing an initial series of 10 public forums to collect input on the new-stadium idea.

Athletic director Jack Graham has said an on-campus stadium — which would replace Hughes Stadium — would boost the university’s national image and help fundraising.

No plans have been formalized for the stadium, which could cost $100 million to $200 million.

Frank created a Stadium Advisory Committee, co-chaired by Graham, which is charged with producing a report by the end of the semester on the feasibility of building a stadium somewhere on the CSU campus.

Frank said any recommendations on a stadium must fall within the following parameters:

• CSU will not put the stadium on existing open green space, including the intramural fields.

• CSU won’t consider putting the stadium in front of “significant existing view shields” so as to protect views of the mountains.

• All recommendations from the Advisory Committee must take into serious account any impact on neighbors near a new stadium.

• State appropriation, tuition, fees or taxes will not be considered as funding sources for a stadium.

“In whatever the committee recommends, they must respect and uphold CSU’s mission as a land-grant university and the institution’s focus on excellence in everything we do,” Frank said.

Critics of the stadium proposal said CSU appears more concerned with its athletic image rather than academic performance. A group called Save Our Stadium, Hughes has been formed to fight the new-stadium idea.