SF Chron: Cal scrambling to cover stadium bill

[dcpony]

By Nanette Asimov

June 17, 2013

UC Berkeley's plan to sell special football seats to pay off nearly half a billion dollars in stadium debt has long inspired skepticism, as if Cal were setting up a lemonade stand to finance a home mortgage.

True, each of those chairs at the newly renovated Memorial Stadium costs $40,000 to $250,000 and is yours for 40 or 50 years. But even Cal officials, who had said they would sell all 2,902 pricey seats by this month, grew skeptical of their own claims last fall.

The latest figures show sales have stagnated at 1,857 seats. Declined, in fact. Sixteen buyers gave their seats back this winter, stopping payments and cutting short their ownership deal.

None of that surprises longtime critics of the stadium renovation, like computer science Professor Brian Barsky.

"We said it wouldn't work out. They never should have done this," Barsky said. "The prices are too high. It was doomed to failure."

It's not as if Cal can unbuild the stadium. So campus officials are finding other ways they hope will pay the huge bill. Cal analysts, using numbers supplied by the athletics department, call the effort encouraging, while a Stanford University sports economist says it won't be enough.


Notable excerpts re: the Stanford economist's take:

Taking a grimmer view is Roger Noll, an emeritus professor at Stanford and an expert in stadium financing.

He pointed to less ambitious efforts to finance new stadiums in Michigan and Texas, which aren't going well.

"If Texas can't raise the money, how the hell do you think Cal can?" Noll said with a rueful laugh.

"I hope they succeed, but the chances are not very high," he said. "My guess is the incremental revenue from the stadium is not going to be even close to paying off the structural deficit."

http://www.sfchronicle.com/collegesport ... ac47b02379

[East Coast Mustang]

Who do they think they are, Alabama? 250k for seat licenses?

[RyanSMU98]

Folks in Cali have had a pretty loose grip on reality for quite a while now; this shouldn't really shock anyone.

[ReedFrawg]

I know you all hate TCU but I love the fact that we had the money in the bank before touching anything at our football stadium. And I agree that this is Cal we are discussing...reality went out the window long ago.

[East Coast Mustang]

I know you all hate TCU but I love the fact that we had the money in the bank before touching anything at our football stadium. And I agree that this is Cal we are discussing...reality went out the window long ago.

Yeah, ya'll did an awesome job on your stadium. It looks great.

I'm assuming SMU had all the $ in place as well. We may not be where we want to be right now, but we're fortunate to have a top-notch on-campus facility that is more than suitable for our needs. Now we just need to fill it!

[ReedFrawg]

I know you all hate TCU but I love the fact that we had the money in the bank before touching anything at our football stadium. And I agree that this is Cal we are discussing...reality went out the window long ago.

Yeah, ya'll did an awesome job on your stadium. It looks great.

I'm assuming SMU had all the $ in place as well. We may not be where we want to be right now, but we're fortunate to have a top-notch on-campus facility that is more than suitable for our needs. Now we just need to fill it!

SMU needs to put together a couple back-to-back 10 win seasons or there will never be enough momentum to grow that fan base.

[ponyinNC]

As someone who grew up in Palo Alto, let me just say that Cal and Stanford are the most heated of rivals. It doesn't shock me that the Stanford economist takes the hard line here.

Put another way, that would be like asking a TCU professor about the value of an SMU degree or vice versa.

[Oldmins]

I know you all hate TCU but I love the fact that we had the money in the bank before touching anything at our football stadium. And I agree that this is Cal we are discussing...reality went out the window long ago.

I don't hate TCU, but is it OK to point out that their total cost was around $163 million, while Cal's was close to half a billion? Nothing hateful there, is there?

[ReedFrawg]

I know you all hate TCU but I love the fact that we had the money in the bank before touching anything at our football stadium. And I agree that this is Cal we are discussing...reality went out the window long ago.

I don't hate TCU, but is it OK to point out that their total cost was around $163 million, while Cal's was close to half a billion? Nothing hateful there, is there?

Sure you do!

I completely agree...however I also hope TCU never spends that much on a football stadium.

[Bergermeister]

Yeah, ya'll did an awesome job!

y'all (spelling police)

[PK]

I know you all hate TCU but I love the fact that we had the money in the bank before touching anything at our football stadium. And I agree that this is Cal we are discussing...reality went out the window long ago.

I don't hate TCU, but is it OK to point out that their total cost was around $163 million, while Cal's was close to half a billion? Nothing hateful there, is there?

Sure you do!

I completely agree...however I also hope TCU never spends that much on a football stadium.

I would say TCU got the better value for their money spent.

[ponyboy]

For the record, I do hate TCU. With a passion

[MV pony]

Stanford raised 1 billion in 1 year from their friends and alum. SMU should be so fortunate.

[ponyboy]

Still hate TCU

[Charleston Pony]

be thankful for supporters like Gerald Ford