(07-29-2023 02:47 PM)niu1980 Wrote: (07-28-2023 12:45 PM)pvk75 Wrote: (07-28-2023 12:17 PM)HuskiePride12 Wrote: (07-28-2023 11:00 AM)epasnoopy Wrote: Football is the king of college athletics and brings in the most revenue. If we want to keep up and not fall behind we need to invest in Huskie Stadium and our football program. Also makes NIU more attractive, if we ever were to be considered for moving conferences.
Renovations to HS is an investment in our campus and the city of DeKalb. Look how much downtown DeKalb has transformed. It's way more appealing and inviting than when I graduated.
Yep and conference reshuffling is already starting up again. Need to be in a position when an opportunity comes because you might only get one chance.
Terrific idea! But since not even the 2015 master plan estimated costs, that I'm aware of, how much $? Where does it come from? Who will be in charge of fundraising? With no "Chicago Connection" to speak of, what's our fundraising base?
Old saying: To be successful, you must first get in position to be in position to take advantage of opportunities as they come along.
So how far out of position to be in position is NIU?
Real easy to say what NIU needs to do. Some who understand a bit about how NIU got here have been saying it for years. Some even posted plans. Nobody ever gets feedback, so posters stop posting. Then they stop caring. Hey, it's NIU so ... whatever.
And maybe it got lost, but where did that Convo naming rights money go?
See the nearby WIU financial hurt thread. Their board is demanding action NOW. Do we have the overall and athletic administrations to answer that call?
I have a copy of the original published master plan and there are dollar amounts listed for each project. For example, $50,000,000 for Huskie Stadium east side and $11,000,000 for Convocation Center. Interestingly a number of the projects have been completed or started. Some in different forms but progress nevertheless.
Indoor golf practice facility completed at Rich Harvest Farms instead of in proposed Olympic Sports Village. Indoor tennis facility nearing completion in Chick Evans Fieldhouse instead of proposed new building. Baseball Stadium renovations in progress instead of relocated new stadium. Softball Stadium improvements under way. Nutrition Center complete. Nelson Club improvements complete. Gymnastics pit complete. Video Room in Convocation Center I believe is complete.
In addition the turf on the soccer field has been replaced, the Convocation Center scoreboards and lighting have been replaced or upgraded and the basketball court will be replaced prior to this upcoming season. Also the weights and training center in the Yordon Center has been completely updated. Also the football turf will likely be replaced after this coming season. Fundraising is ongoing for the basketball home locker rooms. Covid and inflation have delayed the start.
Yes the most expensive projects are still on the board but hopefully the university wide upcoming fundraising campaign will put a dent into those.
Neat trick ... skipping posts to pick one for a "reply." I'll have to remember that. Anyway, I also have a copy of the original master plan, but admit lack of due diligence instead of going on memory about costs. Apologies for that. I won't even blame getting old and lazy.
Anyway, the point of two "skipped" posts was that NIU needs to develop and publicize/market smaller, targeted athletic projects for fundraising. First on that list was new Huskie Stadium turf, underlayment and any needed drainage improvements. There are many others. Some can generate revenue, as they are premiums. Others needed just to repair and modernize.
Those posts also mentioned some of what subsequent posts said has been done. Projects like Rich Harvest golf, Fieldhouse tennis, rebuild baseball rather than new are workarounds, and much of that came from a small handful of big donors who are already active in supporting the Huskies. Those projects also mean large portions of the 2014-15 master plan are toast. Using it as any more than a historical reference now is worthless, especially 2014-15 cost estimates. Anyway, how do you do work around a football stadium?
And I suspect the past few years of Huskies Invest and a little "trick" footnoted on each item ("Up to 10% of your gift(s) will be allocated for operational needs of the Athletics Department and University.") are partly responsible for the Convo interior improvements (lighting, locker rooms, etc.). You only thought your donation all went to your selected item(s). Btw, the footnote makes the "scoop" legal.
If anyone is waiting on that "planned" ($500 million?) university fundraiser to get any major athletic facility projects done, two points:
-- State law prohibits funding athletic facilities (Chicago States's Jones Center was the political exception), and
-- A February 2022 BOT report details the age and deterioration of facilities university-wide, the needs for tens of millions just to catch up to deferred maintenance, dearth of available state funding, delays at the Capital Development Board, etc.
Don't expect athletic facilities to be a high priority. "We" the Huskies fans/alumni/donors are pretty much on our own. Hence the smaller, targeted athletic projects for fundraising. What we *do* need is a focused marketing/fundraising effort from our Athletic DePartment that explains the need and benefits of each item. Any bets on that?
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