In the minds of some Arkansans, the power structure at the University of Arkansas is arranged, top to not-quite-bottom, something like this:
- Head football coach or athletic director (depending on which one is having a better year).
What’s the point?
University of Arkansas trustee David Pryor is asking the right kinds of questions to ensure a planned expansion of Razorback Stadium is the right fit for the Fayetteville campus.
- Razorback Foundation director ("Can you move my seats up a little this year?)
- Head baseball coach.
- Starting quarterback.
- Chancellor.
- Head basketball coach (post-Nolan Richardson)
- University of Arkansas trustees.
Mind you, we're not suggesting that is the actual power structure. Starting quarterback can occasionally slip into the No. 2 spot. But our point is this: The gubernatorial appointees known as trustees aren't top of mind in the Public's Power Rankings (PPR, for the stat keepers out there) when along comes a major issue affecting the UA athletic program in Fayetteville.
A major issue has come along lately, in the form of a major expansion of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Athletic Director Jeff Long has laid out a $160 million plan to fully enclose the stadium with game-day seating. The stadium is three-sided now, with the Broyles Athletic Center capping the north end.
The project, as it stands today, would be funded with a $120 million bond issue backed by the university and $40 million in private funds. Preliminary designs show the addition of new luxury suites, loge-style seating partitioned from other spectators, club seats and club areas, new concessions and restrooms. Estimates suggest the total additional seats at 2,297 club seats, 384 suite seats and 368 box seats, which doesn't sound like much. But it's the kind of seating the UA finds attractive. The box seats would consist of clusters of four to eight seats separated from others by partitions. In other words, the kind of seating the UA might very well be able to charge a premium for. Hey, corporations like college football just like the rest of us. And they're people, too. The Supreme Court says so.
There's more. A new game-day locker room and training room, with new entrances, new elevators and a new video board added to the stadium's south end (the university will then have to give the Arkansas Forestry Commission a heads up that nothing's ablaze on those nights the stadium is bathed in the red glow from two massive screens).
And what else? Oh yeah, a new Broyles Athletic Center, home for athletic department administrative and other offices.
The new seating area will connect with a concourse between existing east and west walkways, improving access.
The UA athletic program made sure to put on its armor against criticism with this paragraph: "This project will be funded entirely by athletics revenues, capital gifts, and bond proceeds from a future bond issue. Season ticket and single game ticket price adjustments will also be implemented. Bonds will be amortized using athletic revenues generated from the stadium. No university funds will be required to complete this project."
There's no doubt football fans love enhancements to their "game-day experience." A former Razorback built a huge stadium in Texas that proves people and companies will shell out big bucks for those special seats and special treatment.
So why not? Onward and upward. Build it and they'll come. #NeverYield and all that jazz.
What's this? That distinguished-looking gentleman has his hand up like he has a question or two. Where does he think he is, the U.S. Senate? Oh yeah, that's David Pryor. He actually was in the Senate, and was governor of this great state. Now he's one of those UA trustees.
And he doesn't just have a question or two. He's got more than 30. A few examples:
Has there been a cost-benefit study?
Will there be additional seats added for student use?
What will the ticket prices be for the new seats?
Will competitive bids be taken?
On a scale of 1-10, how would the "north end project" rate as a priority for the Fayetteville campus?
Would this be the campus' largest bond issue ever, and would the debt preclude or adversely affect future bond issues for other campus needs?
Do plans include any additional parking in, under or around the Broyles Center?
What's the breakdown of bond issue proceeds being used for athletic purposes vs. academic needs in the past 25 years?
What percent of revenue collected by the Athletic Department is allocated to academic needs for the Fayetteville campus?
Good questions, all, especially in the arms race known as college athletics spending. Serious people question whether the buildup necessarily benefits students at institutions of higher education. It's deserving of an in-depth discussion among UA trustees.
Maybe having a former governor, a former U.S. Senator and one of the leading statesmen of the Natural State on the UA board of trustees changes the Public Power Rankings just a bit. He earns big props for strength of schedule, anyway.
It's not hard to envision this major project at the University of Arkansas being pushed through quicker than Alex Collins finds holes in defensive lines. Pryor, however, has another plan, one that demands the movers and shakers in UA athletics build a compelling case for the expenditure of such large sums. He's not suggesting they can't. He's just demanding that they convince someone other than themselves that their idea is a good one. It will be up to the trustees to determine whether it fits within the larger context of the University of Arkansas.
Pryor's service to the state of Arkansas continues.
Commentary on 04/03/2016