RE: DO THE TEMPLE OWLS WANT THIER OWN STADIUM?
I know I’m coming a bit late to the party on this one, but this is a topic that always seems to stir emotions in Temple football fans.
I think there is no question that a 35,000 on campus stadium would be a tremendous boost to the Temple football product. From a perception standpoint (30,000 in Lincoln Financial Field looks like no one is at the game), an energy standpoint (see above, it’s tough getting the emotions running hot when the place is less than half full) and from a ticket sales standpoint (people always want what they can’t have, and don’t care about what comes easy, less seats means the tickets are tougher to get which means they will be in higher demand).
Now the reality of the situation. Those who are familiar with the campus, just where would you propose to locate this stadium on campus? People have mentioned Rutgers and their on campus stadium, I have been there its beautiful, but keep in mind Rutgers has a lot of open space on their campus, its over 2,600 acres. By comparison, Temple’s campus covers 105 acres.
Paying for it is another issue. Using the new Meadowlands stadium as an example because it was recently completed and is state of the art. The cost of the project came in at 1.3 Billion, so say you can do the job for half of that amount because it’s smaller and doesn’t need to be as elaborate, that’s a cool $650,000,000. Let’s just say it can be done with some creative financing, one third of it through alumni and friends of Temple donations, one third through the sale of Bonds, and one third funded by Temple (the state of PA), that’s still $216,million each. In this time of tax heights and budget cuts where is that money going to come from? Temple had a tough enough time justifying the buyout figures from the MAC and A-10, they will have a real tough time selling this one.
This is my long winded way of saying I think it’s a great idea, but it’s a luxury not a necessity, I just don’t see it happening anytime soon.
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