Opponents Rally Against CSU's Plan For Football Stadium
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - Some Fort Collins residents, many of whom are alumni of Colorado State University, gathered on campus Friday to show their opposition to the school's plans for a new football stadium.
They say they are against the construction of a new stadium on the CSU campus' southwest corner.
Several alums said they do not want to see the campus change.
"I'm here today to protest the on-campus stadium. We the citizens of Fort Collins do not agree with Tony Frank's folly. We would like if they have to build a new stadium to build it where the old stadium stands," said Waydene Pixler. "There's plenty of room for parking, tailgating, it's not going to disrupt our neighborhoods."
Protestors also said an on campus stadium will ruin what has traditionally been CSU agricultural land.
When asked why he was protesting the new stadium, one CSU alum who graduated in 1955 replied, "Number one: traffic; number two: the debt; number three: no place to tailgate. Hughes is a perfect place, building a new one on the campus is a waste of taxpayer and student money."
The Rams are targeting the fall of 2017 as the timeframe for when they'll play their first game in their new stadium, according to new Coach Mike Bobo. In December the Colorado State University Board of Governors approved school president Tony Frank's proposal for the stadium.
"I believe that this is a total waste of environmental resources we need to concentrate on fixing up one of the most beautiful locations for a stadium in all of college," said CSU alum Laurel.
The stadium is slated to cost between $190 million and $220 million to build.