I'm not current on the figures and what has or hasn't been budgeted and approved, however...State Line Liquors wrote:Sorry to call up a post from a few weeks ago....I mostly just look at the pictures here.JmuSkinsfan wrote: Phase II, unfunded and with no timeline (though it is assumed would occur soon after any announcement to move up would be made and likely in the next 5 years), would see the demolition and construction of the same structure on the visitors side (with seats in place of where the press box is on the home side, obviously). The lower level would be connected in the corner of the visitors endzone side (where it previously had not connected to the smaller, old structure) completing the lower level horseshoe. Capacity would be taken to around 42k.
I was told yesterday in a thread on JMU's board that they have budgeted $85 Million over the next 5 years for a basketball arena as well. Presumably, to do the other side we're talking about a similar figure to the $65 Million it cost for Phase 1. So I'm clear, over perhaps an 8 or 9 year period, JMU is budgeting $215 Million ($65M for Phase 1, $85M for basketball, $65M for Phase 2) for improvement to their football stadium and a new basketball arena....is that correct??
Keep in mind that this and the CAAZone are sports message boards, so we're focusing on the sports aspect, but these projects are but a part of a larger growth plan going on around the entire campus, driven by the school's anticipated growth, which must follow the population growth of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
ODU, VCU and GMU are large schools located in major population centers. They have 30,000 or so students, serving the needs of the local communities with (relatively) higher numbers of part-time commuter students.
VT, UVA and JMU are not in major population centers, so their student population is largely full-time resident (although VT and UVA have satellite campuses in Northern Virginia). Resident schools obviously require more support facilities like dorms, dining halls, etc.
Virginia's population is growing rapidly, especially in job-rich Northern Virginia, and the state needs to ensure that adequate public school facilities exist to meet that increasing demand. JMU has the potential to expand and take on much of that growth.
When I was a student in the 90's, JMU had 11,000 students, now it's approaching 20,000. In 15 more years, it could be 30,000 and as large as the other CAA schools listed above, BUT with a significantly larger population of full-time residents. It just doesn't make sense to have a 15,000 seat football stadium or 8,000 seat basketball arena for 30,000 students (especially given JMU's notoriously high student fees for athletics)
And, because someone will ask, W&M is a full-time resident school, but is unique in that its growth is pretty much capped, or is at least much more closely controlled and will not expand much beyond the 6,000 to 7,000 population it has had for years.
