[Vision2020] BSU Luxury Box Proposal

Tue Jan 2 14:59:54 PST 2007

I hope the State Board of Education goes over this little scheme with a fine-toothed comb.
  A little priority check would be a good idea here, don'tcha think?
      TL

http://www.idahostatesman.com/124/story/65888.html
  January 02, 2007  Broncos will ask State Board for approval Monday    GLENDALE, Ariz. — Boise State will ask the State Board of Education on Monday for approval to build a luxury suites/club seats/press box addition to Bronco Stadium. 

  The project will cost $35.9 million, with $28 million financed through a bond sale. The athletic department will pay for the rest in cash.      If the board approves, the university plans to break ground by March 1. The final step would be to seek approval for the bond sale at the Feb. 22-23 board meeting.   The addition would add 38 luxury suites, 43 loge boxes and 787 club seats to Bronco Stadium in time for the 2008 season.      "It has been an unbelievable experience," said Curt Apsey, the senior associate athletic director for advancement who has spearheaded the premium seating sales. "I've learned a heck of a lot. It's exciting. I think it's going to be a facility like no other, and we're going to do it right. And when you're spending that kind of money, that's what you've got to do."      Monday's meeting, which likely will be held by teleconference, is critical to BSU's timeline. Construction is expected to take 15 to 18 months. That means a March 1 groundbreaking
 is necessary to ensure a Sept. 1 opening.      "If it starts to get past (March 1), I would be concerned about the plan 
 to go in '08," Apsey said.      The structure, which will be built behind the west grandstands, will include:      • Thirty-eight luxury suites (16 seats each) — 33 for sale and five for university use. BSU has sold 29 of them and expects to sell the rest within a few weeks. Leases cost $42,000 or $48,000 per year, including game tickets, depending on location.      • Forty-three loge boxes (four seats each) that have sold out. The open-air boxes are below the club seats. They cost $12,000 per year.      • A total of 787 club seats, which are sold individually for $2,200 per year. BSU has commitments for 410.      • Club rooms that serve as gathering and eating places for premium seat holders.      • A faculty club room on weekdays that will double as the loge club room on game days.      BSU is wrapping up the design process with FFKR Architects and
 Layton Construction, the same companies that built a similar facility at the University of Utah.      "We've corrected for some of the things they might not have done perfectly," BSU president Bob Kustra said. "I think people will be taken aback by this."      BSU will pay $7.9 million of the cost with cash. The school has raised about $3.85 million through donations and naming opportunities and already had $1.9 million slated for the project.      That leaves a $2.15 million gap that BSU still needs to fill.   The $28 million will be financed over 30 years with a debt payment of about $2.5 million per year, including a 20 percent reserve held by the university in case of a revenue shortfall.      The school recently was informed that it would keep its "A-1" bond rating with the Moody's, the top rating possible. Moody's is a bond-rating service. School officials thought they might lose their rating because of BSU's growing construction debt.   The rating will allow BSU to
 get a better interest rate for the bond sale, officials said.      BSU will pay back the debt with revenue from the premium seating. The school estimates it can make the annual payment by generating 83 percent of the possible revenue.      The athletic department also will contribute $600,000 per year to the academic capital projects fund to compensate for using some of the university's debt capacity. That amount increases by $100,000 every five years for the life of the loan — a total of $25.5 million in 30 years.      Any additional revenue will go to athletics, which can use the cash for other projects.   The premium seating comes with 3-, 5-, 7- and 10-year leases, so BSU should have close to full occupancy for at least the first three years.      "The athletic department has done an outstanding job of selling the suites, the club seats, the loges," Kustra said. "Our boosters have stepped up to the plate. It's really reassuring going into this board meeting knowing we
 have people obligated to pay off these suites."      Contact reporter Chadd Cripe at ccripe at idahostatesman.com. 

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