Throwing good money after bad\nKirk Nathanson\nJocks are notoriously bad at managing money: Give them a multimillion-dollar budget plus endorsement deals, and you've got a recipe for disaster. \nConventional wisdom says a business needs to spend money to make money, conveniently neglecting to mention that raking up too much debt will, inevitably, ruin you. The planned stadium complex will drive an already debt-ridden organization further into the red. Right now, $7.2 million might not seem like lot now, compared to say, the national debt (a resounding $8,490,627,883,390.58), but consider just how much worse it will be when ground is broken.\nAt a board of trustees meeting last Friday, the athletics department defended the proposal, which was unanimously approved, by arguing that other Big Ten schools have been systematically improving their facilities and claiming that IU is falling dangerously behind the trend. . So what? If the Big Ten schools were building international airports to attract foreigners and diversity, would Bloomington need one, too? \nAlthough the new stadium complex will be paid for through donations and media revenue, the available funds will only cover the projected cost. Inevitably, unforeseen problems, which plague every construction project, will push up both the cost of the new facilities and the building time. Once construction is finally complete -- five to 15 years from now -- the new facilities will require just as much maintenance as the old ones, sucking up huge amounts of electricity, water and gas to operate. The administration established athletic fees during better days; with these added costs, it doesn't seem unreasonable to predict a $100 athletics fee in the near future. \nMoreover, the University should not be condoning fiscal irresponsibility. We can spend $55 million, first on eliminating the current (and excessive) debt, and second on media promotions and incentives to attend campus sporting events. If more students attended more events, the new stadiums might be worth the cost and confusion, but they don't. \nA sports team is defined by its record, not by its stadium.\nThe bedrock beneath The Rock isn't sinking, the bleachers aren't crumbling and the spot lights still shine. There's still plenty of life left in the facilities we have.
It takes money to make money\nJessica Simendinger\nIt takes money to make money -- a cliché, yes, but clichés exist because they hold revisited truths. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that our facilities, argued by some to be the worst in the Big Ten, leave something to be desired. In the way of excess revenue, we have a losing record, but without fixing what's broken, how do we intend to improve business?\nThat's why the trustees passed this plan. It gives IU the chance to compete with the other Big Ten schools in terms of the facilities quality, and, as a result, attract better recruits. Along with better recruits come better teams, more wins, increased attendance and ,ultimately, more revenue.\nSee? It takes money to make money.\nBut it also takes a little faith. For many schools, football is their greatest source of revenue for their respective athletic departments, and while last year showed improvement over the previous six, IU's attendance at football games is sub-par at best. The addition to Memorial Stadium will be an active solution to this problem. Our football program shows great potential for improvement in terms of financial gain -- not to mention that Hep asked for it.\nPersonally, "outdated" and "barely above high school standards" are not the descriptions I want for my university's athletic facilities. That won't cut it for the kind of coaches and players we want.\nAnd if the debt is what you're worried about, don't be. This is just how things are done. According to an article published in Indiana Alumni Magazine in January 2005, fellow Big Ten university Ohio State paid $16 million of its $20.6 million profit to service its debt of a whopping $202.7 million. Our $7.2 million debt is nothing compared to that.\nThe most important thing, though, is that we should be proud of our school, proud of our facilities and proud of our teams. As of now, we're losing. And we will keep losing if nothing changes. The trustees made the right choice: They know it takes money to make money.
