Football Stadium Bill passes House committee 19-3

After a long series of testimony and debate in the House Capital Investment Committee today, a bill to help fund the proposed on-campus football stadium passed by a vote of 19-3. Only Phyllis Kahn, Alice Hausman and Jim Knoblach voted against the bill. Kahn and Hausman represent districts that cover the U of Minnesota campus.

Another big positive for the prospects of this bill was that all amendments, which could further complicate things, were soundly defeated. This included the corporate naming rights issue and the student fees. The
only amendment that passed was to allow use of the stadium of high school events, like football playoffs or band competitions. The University officials supported that amendment.

Hausman, who felt strongly that the U of M’s priorities are out of whack, offered the main argument against this bill. Hausman apparently wants the University to concentrate on being a more exclusive research university.

The fact that Minnesota is proposing to spend over $200 million on a football stadium might seem staggering to the average person. However, when you compare what this university has spent on football with to the rest of the Big Ten over the last several decades, this $200 only begins to get Minnesota football in a competitive position again. The fact is that almost every other Big Ten program has renovated their stadiums in the last decade. Ohio State recently spent the same amount on a stadium renovation that Minnesota is proposing for a whole new stadium. The Gophers are last in the Big Ten in just about every category of football spending.

The analogy to big-time college football that these politicians would relate to is this: One of them decides he feels strongly about the principle of campaign finance reform and limits his spending on his next campaign for the State House to $10,000. His opponent doesn’t go along with the idea and spends $100,000 on his campaign. Next stop for the guy spending $10,000 is St. Cloud City Council where $10,000 might be enough to run a campaign.

The real question that nobody dares to ask in these meetings is whether we want the U of Minnesota to stay in the Big Ten or drop out to join the proverbial city council in the above analogy. That’s the white elephant in the living room that everyone ignores. Should Minnesota make a commitment to compete in the Big Ten with a fully funded football program, or become the first charter member of the conference to drop out since the University of Chicago, drifting into obscerity?