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DENVER – After three years of public comments, studies and debates, the Colorado State University Board of Governors has approved CSU President Tony Frank’s recommendation of an on-campus athletic stadium.
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The board, consisting of nine members, voted 8-0 with one abstention. Board Treasurer Joseph Zimlich abstained from the vote.
President Frank will now determine the best financial plan and scope of the project before returning to the board with his recommendation in February. According to Frank, it is very likely that the new stadium could be finished by 2017.
“There will be a lot of hard work along the way,” Frank said after the meeting.
Save Our Stadium Hughes member Bob Vangermeersch came down for the Denver meeting and was disappointed with the results.
“We got to regroup … and rejuvenate ourselves,” Vangermeersch said. “After three years my guys are tired.”
According to Vangermeersch, the group which opposes the on-campus stadium needs to see if a lawsuit is something they want to pursue in the future.
Over 150 people attended the Board of Governors meeting and an even split of 34 people spoke for and against the stadium.
Former CSU and Broncos TE Joel Dreessen spoke in favor of the stadium, stating when he was at CSU they did a lot with little, and that he would like to see what they could do with more.
CSU graduate student Emma Vakili was the only current student who commented during the meeting. Vakili was in opposition to the stadium and said she was disappointed at the lack of environmental impact studies done at Hughes Stadium.
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Also present at the meeting was Fort Collins City Manager Darin Atteberry. According to Atteberry, the city has chosen to stay neutral throughout the stadium discussion, but he did acknowledge that community disagreements about the stadium will need to be reconciled.
“I think there is a lot of mending that needs to occur,” Atteberry said.
During the board members final discussion before the vote, many members praised the work that went into Frank’s recommendation, however, treasurer Zimlich stated he was concerned about the financial risk for students if money were to be pulled from the general fund.
All other board members, such as board Chair Dorothy Horrell, thought the risk was minimal given they believe a new stadium is essential.
“The risk of not doing the is far greater than the risk of doing it,” Horrell said.
Collegian Reporter Skyler Leonard can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @Skyler_Leonard.
