Adding 10k seats will cost at least $20M with virtually 0 return on investment. It will have to be done with donor funds due to the present massive deficit. If those donations were actually out there, which I doubt they are based on how long it’s taken to fund the IPF they’d be better spent on NIL buying players ( as sickening as that thought is to me).
You have some solid points in a short post, but we need to think about how to actually expand the seating in Martin Stadium. And how will that affect the cost, and the resulting cost benefit. Not sure where you got your $ figure from, and I won't have anything more accurate to offer from good construction figures in today's market, but I can address some of the factors that will affect it.
Question # 1 is where can you actually expand seating in the stadium? Lets examine that for a minute. I say the west end is out, because that is where the Football Operations Building is and expanding there would require demolishing it and building another one elsewhere, which would make the alternative fiscally unfeasible.
I say that the south side is also eliminated from consideration for much the same reason- expansion there is limited by the building underneath already and plus having to demolish and rebuild the press boxes and suites that are existing. If anything is done in this location it will end up costing a lot of revenue for at least one season due to the lengthy construction timeline. Physical limitations and resulting cost escalation will eliminate the south side from any consideration.
So that leaves the east end zone and the north side. In order to maximize ongoing revenue you would want to locate new seats in the best possible viewing positions. Unfortunately, that means not building in the east end zone where construction would be cheaper, but going on the north side. If you recall from when the press boxes and suites were built, the ground on the north side is far from optimal for building on. IIRC, there used to be a pond/lake/swamp of some kind in that area that would require extensive mitigation (think cost escalation) to do anything major in that area. But assuming you are committed to building additional seats, and I would assume also additional suites) here, how do you accomplish that?
Since scientists have not perfected any kind of levitation capability yet, I see two options. First is to either partially or completely demolish existing seating in order to put more seats above. Partially would involve having columns, which would then mean obstructed view for lower seats when completed. (just screw the students, right?). Complete demolition again means losing seat revenue for all those seats for at least a year, along with losing the great student support/enthusiasm for at least a year. Hardly an optimal approach.
So where does that leave us? In my feeble mind, it means having to take the mitigation actions needed for the foundations and then having to cantilever the entire new structure over the existing seats. Such an approach leads to the cost per seat being much , much greater than building seats in a "green field" location, both from the foundation and then the larger structural elements that are required for that type of design. Not a good situation for an athletic department that is already in dire straights financially.
Anyone remember that old Miller Lite commercial with Billy Martin? Their commercials back then always played off the "Tastes Great" vs "Less Filling" sides, and Billy said that "I feel very strongly both ways". Well, that is how I feel on this. I certainly understand and agree that a larger stadium and more NIL funds would greatly help WSU to compete, but as a rational thinking guy I also see the financial constraints of our current situation.
Unfortunately, I don't foresee a giant government bailout anytime in WSU's future, so I think the best solution is for you all to hope and pray that I win both the Powerball and Mega Million drawings this week. Thank you for your assistance on this matter!
