Drc Editorial For Stadium

[Green Dozer]

UNT football: Wall Street on Fry Street

01:09 AM CDT on Saturday, September 27, 2008

We feel a little sheepish making the analogy, but the debate over a new football stadium at the University of North Texas reminds us of the meltdown on Wall Street that’s been pigging the headlines in recent days.

America’s financial markets are failing, at least partly because of their own failings, but they are “too big to let fail,” and somebody, in this case the American taxpayers, must help prop them up.

Fouts Field, the stadium where the UNT football team has played since the mind of man runneth not to the contrary, is crumbling — literally — but football is “too big to let fail,” and somebody, in this case future generations of UNT students, must help prop it up.

Our conclusion about the latter situation pretty much mirrors the one we’ve come to about the former: It stinks, but we’re willing to hold our noses and go along — with some strong reservations.

If UNT is going to continue to field a football team, it is going to have to have a new football stadium. Yup, if we’re going to have football, the proposal for a new stadium is “too big to let fail.” Fouts Field is a bedraggled disgrace, and it may even become dangerous to patrons if it’s allowed to stand much longer. If we’re going to have football at UNT, we’re going to have to build a new stadium.

A new stadium would be a nice recruiting tool for the football program, and it might help land some attractive “home-and-home agreements” with recognized regional opponents.

In order to get such a stadium, the university’s athletic department and athletic boosters (see David Anderson’s guest column, which appeared on this page on Sept. 24) propose a student fee of $10 per semester hour to supplement private fundraising efforts.

Students will vote on that proposal during the second week of October, but they have no real stake in the matter. The fee, if approved, won’t go into effect until the stadium and most of today’s students are long-gone. This suits the athletic department right down to the ground, because it gives a false veneer of democracy to the process while ensuring an electorate that has no vested interest in voting “No.”

We can’t really think of a truly democratic way to gauge the opinion of students who would be affected by the fee short of letting every 10th-grader in Texas have a vote, so this, like the Wall-Street bailout, is the imperfect plan we are left with.

We suppose we can live with it, but we wouldn’t be too disappointed if UNT students took an empathetic look down the road and decided that $10 a semester hour was too large a load to place on the backs of students who haven’t even set foot on the campus yet.

If the fee were voted down, perhaps a smaller fee could be proposed in its stead, a fee that wouldn’t add some $300 a year to an average student’s financial burden. Rethinking the sizes of the fee would also add credibility to the university’s stated goal of making a UNT education more affordable.

True, private fundraisers would have to take up the slack. Athletic department officials now estimate that private funds would amount for about $40 million of the $60 million cost of the stadium, and a lower student fee would increase that amount considerably.

But there are thousands of UNT alumni in the area, and they have shown us that they are dedicated to the cause. Hard work and perseverance could carry the day.

Winning some football games wouldn’t hurt, either.

Green Dozer: Not bad, just wish Denton City Leaders (i.e. Mayor Burroughs would come out for the stadium, and tout the benefits for the City of Denton

Edited September 27, 2008 by Green Dozer

[Mean Green 93-98]

I don't like the approach. I'm not saying that it doesn't have a good measure of truth, but I don't think the negative approach is necessary.

[UNTflyer]

Green Dozer: Not bad, just wish Denton City Leaders (i.e. Mayor Burroughs would come out for the stadium, and tout the benefits for the City of Denton

I emailed the mayor and asked him if he would be interested in speaking out for the stadium.

[Green Dozer]

I emailed the mayor and asked him if he would be interested in speaking out for the stadium.

I e-mailed Rick and asked him to invite the mayor to come on the Todd Dodge Show.

[Mean Green 93-98]

I e-mailed Rick and asked him to invite the mayor to come on the Todd Dodge Show.

Would that kinda be preaching to the choir?

[Green Dozer]

Would that kinda be preaching to the choir?

Yea, now that you mention it. Seemed like a brilliant idea when i did it! Guess I'm like Col. Blake from MASH, just trying to help.

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

Yea, now that you mention it. Seemed like a brilliant idea when i did it! Guess I'm like Col. Blake from MASH, just trying to help.

Don't be so hard on yourself. It's a good idea and I don't think that it's like preaching to the choir in that we have no view on how the citizens of Denton feel about it. If Mayor Burroughs accepts then we can feel that Dentonites may at least help us fill the stadium if/when it's approved. Positive rapport with the city should be helpful.