The Board of Governors unanimously decided to demolish Hughes Stadium, the former home of the Colorado State University football team, at their meeting Thursday afternoon.
The proposal to deconstruct Hughes Stadium was presented by Executive Vice Chancellor Amy Parsons and is projected to cost $4 million-$6 million.
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These project costs are expected to be reimbursed from the proceeds of the property sale or ground lease. At this time, the proposal estimates a 6-9 month time frame for completion.
According to the project proposal, prompt deconstruction of Hughes Stadium is desirable to eliminate further utility expenditures along with any other costs to maintain the stadium facility and to prevent the vacant property from becoming a nuisance.
CSU will be in charge of the deconstruction on-site prior to selling the property to developers.
“Our goal is to be able to enter into negotiations (with developers) in the spring and ultimately disposition in the summer,” Parsons said.
A team led by ICON Venue Group and CSU Facilities is pursuing possible future development and associated valuations in their assessment of the stadium’s future following demolition. The team met with neighborhood community members in September to gain public input.
“Lots of people in the community want to keep it as open space and their concerns are about traffic in the area,” Parsons said. “Those roads aren’t really built for a lot of traffic on that side of town.”
Other city and community concerns include density and the possibility of the area being a mixed-used space, according to Parsons.
According to the agenda, ICON has communicated with numerous developers in the region through listening sessions regarding how to position this property in the most favorable way to garner the most interest from a variety of developers, keeping in mind diverse potential uses.
ICON had five different stations including a redevelopment process, existing site context, land use context, community needs and values, and traffic and multimodal access during the listening sessions, Chief Executive Officer of CAA ICON Tim Romani wrote in an email to the Collegian.
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According to Romani, at each station the company has up to two subject matter experts and a scribe. Attendees walk up to the station and ask questions and provide feedback. The scribe then writes the feedback on a large display board and posts it on the wall for others to view.
Upcoming community meeting
- Oct. 18 from 6-8 p.m.
- Drake Centre, 802 W. Drake Road
- Open to the public
- Free parking
In addition to the feedback collected at the listening sessions, ICON also provides a survey for attendees and collects written responses online. After the meetings, they compile all feedback into several documents.
Once all information has been collected from the listening sessions and other key stakeholders, the information will be presented to the Board of Governors.
The Board of Governors will read the feedback and use it as part of the decision-making process when evaluating proposals and selecting a potential developer. The feedback will also be provided to potential developers as part of the due diligence process.
“We’re purposefully taking our time … with this process to make sure that we do a good job with community input,” Parsons said.
Collegian news reporters Natalia Sperry and Abby Currie can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @Natalia_Sperry and @abcchic15.
