BeBoldCSU.org has taken a look at the Center for Public Deliberation (CPD) Stadium Backgrounder document and has decided it was in the best interest of both sides to research the issues and respond. Each of the 13 arguments for the stadium (outlined in the document) now have significant references, data points, studies etc. to back up the rationale for building the stadium. We believe it’s important to start talking about the hard facts and if there aren’t hard facts then at least reference other schools who were in similar situations to CSU and decided to do something BOLD to change the status-quo.
We invite you to download the document and read for yourself. This document has been sent back to the CPD, Tony Frank, and Jack Graham.
A big thanks to the BeBold team who took on this effort!
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I live 2 blocks from the southside of campus and have had concerns about the impact on the surrounding neighborhoods. I am a long-time season ticket holder and would be within walking distance of an on-campus stadium. I haven’t heard any of you address the issue of how game day can affect us in a positive way. How do we handle parking, trash, more parties, and traffic congestation? I would like to hear any solutions (other than “move” or “you should of thought of it 40 years ago”) – anything reasonable would be appreciated. I plan to continue donating to both athletics and academics regardless of the stadium debate outcome.
Hi Mary,
I think there are definitely some reasonable concerns that residents have regarding what the on-campus stadium means for them during game day. Without a doubt I think there will be increased traffic, potential littering, etc. So it’s tough for me to say what the positive benefits directly to you would be other than being proud that CSU is directly benefiting with regards to increased attendance, increased brand awareness, more alumni interaction, etc. I do know that campus’s across the country deal with issues of parking, trash, drunkenness etc. on a weekly basis throughout each fall. For example at University of Mississippi, the school puts out over additional 300-500 trash cans to deal with tailgaters. They have clean up crews that come in after games to deal with clean up, just like they have currently at Hughes.
When the Orange Bowl was used by the University of Miami, some nearby residents made a couple of thousand dollars a year by allowing cars to park on their property. According to the stadium committee there are equal if not more parking spaces on campus than there are at Hughes so given that the games are on the weekends, the spots would be empty. Therefore parking might not be too much of an issue to begin with not to mention the fact that a large majority of students will now walk to games. Plus I hope the university and FoCo work to make the Mason Street Corridor a prime way for people to get in and out. I hate traffic just as much as the next guy but I have faith that CSU will do whatever is necessary to make it right for the residents who are most impacted. It won’t be perfect but it will help.
Mary, do you live South of Prospect? If so, my guess is that you’ll be spared much of the impact due to geography. If you think about it, most students live W and N of campus, so I would expect most foot traffic to be going in those directions and imagine you wouldn’t be hit with any additional trash and that sort of thing.
As for parking and traffic, I know that CSU hires officers out at Hughes to block access to side streets. If you live down one of the sidestreets S of Prospect, I imagine they’ll look to do the same there–completely block off the roads to thru traffic and only allow residents back there. I’d certainly suggest you write the stadium committee and center for public deliberation to express your concerns and request exactly this sort of thing, if applicable. They are being extremely thorough in listening to feedback and are genuinely interested in mitigating problems.
As for a positive, if you live just a short walking distance away from the proposed stadium site, you could potentially sell parking on your property. I know people do this at other universities and make a nice amount of money. You might not like the idea of people coming through the neighborhood looking for parking or renting a parking spot to just anyone, so you could, for example, seek out season ticket holders that you know and/or trust, and pre-arrange for parking for them exclusively. Hard to know if there’s potential for this or not. Probably depends on how touch parking will be and just how close you are.
Anyway, a few thoughts off the top of my head…
Hope this helps.
Ed