We will know either January 21 or February 25. The former date is a full BOT meeting, the latter is a meeting of the BOT's Strategic Planning committee. Unless we get a naming sponsor before then, there's a compelling case to be made for delaying the stadium one year (meaning, a year from now, we still won't know if the stadium will be finalized). FAU officials were recently quoted as saying there have been no significant donations in months.

We have $4 million in pledges. That's just not enough of a down payment on a $60 million+ stadium.

I think our main obstacle is playing at Lockhart (not necessarily playing off campus). Lockhart is the worst facility in I-A. I think we should build a temporary stadium to use for two years to get out of Lockhart and immediately raise the prestige of our program. It may even make financial sense. We rent Lockhart and I don't think we receive any of the other revenue such as parking or from vendors. Let's put up a temporary stadium over the summer. It will give us practice in running big events, let us judge parking and other requirements, bring people to campus, bring in revenue, and buy us time.

Two years ago the temporary stadium was rejected because it didn't make sense for one season and we though we would be in a stadium by now. The administration needs to finally be REALISTIC about our the stadium's time line. Give us a firm commitment to a practical date. Build a temporary stadium and get us out of Lockhart as soon as possible.

We should have known this was going to happen again. We talked about this until it was beat to death and when they were building the track it was talked about building a temp stadium and then they could take there time and do it right. Sorry for the rant but damn. Again, they could do one of two things use the soccer field next to the Ox build or build out the track. Bleechers temp press box's and facilities would probably be about 2 mil . That would be better then that piece of crap they play at now. 

Talon said

We should have known this was going to happen again. We talked about this until it was beat to death and when they were building the track it was talked about building a temp stadium and then they could take there time and do it right. Sorry for the rant but damn. Again, they could do one of two things use the soccer field next to the Ox build or build out the track. Bleechers temp press box's and facilities would probably be about 2 mil . That would be better then that piece of crap they play at now.

No, that makes too much sense….FAU won't do it…. :

I think the temp stadium is our best option right now and it could be probably be done for us to play in next season if we started soon! I know the idea of putting up bleachers around the track has been thrown around, but I really don't think we'd have the room for it. We averaged what, 16,000 this year? There's no way that we could fit bleachers there when its that close to the road. If anything just used the soccer field next to the Oxley, or why not put it in the area where the stadium is going to be built? There's plenty of room there plus, it would get everyone used to where the stadium is going to go. We've got $4mil in pledges right? Let's just use that until we can get the stadium. As a student, there is nothing more I'd like to see than a stadium on campus, even if it is just temporary. A temp stadium is much better than playing at Lockhart and the BOT or whoever is in charge needs to understand that.

This is from the "Ask the AD" page at FAU Sports:

November 21, 2006

Thanks for the email. I appreciate your encouragement in your email. It is true that the timeline for the open air stadium would be approximately 2010. There are a number of things that have to be done to make sure that happens such as starting to build dorms, retail, parking so that those revenue streams can flow into a bucket that we can then draw from to pay the debt service on the open air stadium. With regard to the interim two years we would have to put temporary bleachers up around our new track stadium or play at Dolphin Stadium. We think we can play at Lockhart Stadium through the 2008 year so that gives us a little time to work with but you are right the options for the interim years are not great right now. We will have to see what happens.

February 20, 2007

The best place for a temporary stadium would be on the new track and field surface. The field turf that is down there costs about $600,000 and there is no other playable surface that we could build a stadium around that has proper access. Certainly we will protect the track through using rubber mats on exit points. Also, the bleachers would never be placed on the track they would always be on the outside of the track so that the track would be in full use as well as the field surface would be in full use throughout the week. Keep in mind that there are only four games in which we would play at the temporary stadium a year if it does come about.

April 11, 2007

The temporary football stadium is being considered even for the 2007 year. We have talked extensively with the developers of our permanent stadium about helping us finance the temporary stadium around the track. It is true that there is limited space on the east side. However we had bleacher companies come out and they said that they could put 15,000-18,000 seats around the track without infringing on the track itself. It would be a tight fit in some of the areas but certainly has a lot of room on the west side. In addition to the bleachers though, we have to import a lot of items such as a temporary press boxes, scoreboards, bathrooms, concessions, etc. It is a pretty comprehensive list although there are companies that do this on a regular basis such as those at professional tennis venues like the Key Biscayne or professional golf tournaments. It is possible to do but we are just figuring out how much it would cost and if we can lump these costs onto the total construction costs of the stadium. Nevertheless, I totally agree that it would be best for the support of students and the community to get on campus as soon as possible.

April 30, 2007

I am glad that you enjoyed the spring game. It really was a good atmosphere for our game. We are working hard to try to put a temporary stadium up there this fall. I think the prospects do not look good since the developers of Innovation Village were the ones that were going to pay for the costs of the stadium. Because the project is not yet formally approved it does not look like the funding is going to be available to do it for this year. However, I really think there is a strong possibility that after the project gets approved this spring that next year when the revenues are flowing that it will certainly be a distinct possibility for the 2008 season.

July 30, 2007

It is true that we will be playing our games at Lockhart Stadium this coming year. As you know we pay approximately $27,500 per game to play at Lockhart Stadium. To construct an on campus temporary facility it would cost around $800,000 per year. Considering we are only playing four games this year at our home sight and one at Dolphin Stadium, playing on campus would equate out to $200,000 per game. Although it would be fantastic to play football on campus we just felt that we did not have the money to put into an on campus facility this year with Lockhart available. However, it may be something that we have to do for the 2008 and 2009 season until our stadium is hopefully completed by the 2010 season.

Our stadium problem goes back to day one due to our lingering contract with Dolphin Stadium (a complete disaster). We are stuck playing 20% of our home games there (at a huge loss to rent the facility) through 2013 (IIRC).

The argument that we have only 4 home games is a chicken-and-egg scenario. Our fans deserve more home games, but it's difficult to get anyone of note to play at Lockhart. It also doesn't make sense for us to have home games since we do not get much revenue from Lockhart.

As for a temporary stadium being more expensive than Lockhart, OF COURSE it is more expensive. I would hate to see what would be less expensive than Lockhart.

Neither Dolphin Stadium or Lockhart are truly home to our program.

Lm77 said

Our stadium problem goes back to day one due to our lingering contract with Dolphin Stadium (a complete disaster). We are stuck playing 20% of our home games there (at a huge loss to rent the facility) through 2013 (IIRC).

This really is the most ironic thing that could have happened…at the time, when we were absolutely nothing, it sounded like a great idea…

Now, as you say, it is a total disaster…it allowed decision makers an alternative rather than having to get the stadium built timely…

Although, still say it WILL be built in time for the MSU season opener, 2010. ;)

Tough times for FAU and its stadium with the lay offs at the school right now.
BTW, how is the brick campaign doing?

The brick campaign is going well as far as I know. The Student Alumni Board is still managing the project. It's a very small piece to a very large fund raising puzzle.

smittysahoot said

The brick campaign is going well as far as I know. The Student Alumni Board is still managing the project. It's a very small piece to a very large fund raising puzzle.

The bricks are going to be used to cross from the new Alumni Plaza to the Innovation Village across Lee Street, right? To be pavers for the Lee Street walkway?

It would be cheaper for FAU to add more bleachers around Boca High and play there.