Thursday, May 27, 2010

UNC trustees approve Kenan expansion

A UNC Board of Trustees committee on Wednesday signed off on the second phase of expansion to Kenan Stadium. The full board approved it today.

The privately financed, five-story addition to Kenan will be built in the stadium's east end zone and will house club seats, individual suites, a visiting locker room, the academic support center for athletes, the Carolina Leadership Academy and a strength and conditioning center for the school's Olympic sports.

Athletics director Dick Baddour said Wednesday the school will add a second video board with the expansion.

Construction will begin immediately and is expected to take about 15 months to complete in time for the start of the 2011 football season. The addition, named the Center for Excellence, will replace Kenan Fieldhouse, which was built in 1927.

Sales of club seats and suites began in October of 2009 and will provide about half the funding of the $70 million project. Private donations will supply the rest of the funds, and the athletic department will not use state funds in the project.

"The Carolina Center for Excellence will help us provide exceptional academic support to our nearly 800 student-athletes," Baddour said in a statement. "It also creates a new source of revenue that over the next 30 years will help us maintain the broad-based, 28-sport program we have long enjoyed."

Robbi Pickeral

61 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where is the outrage? How many scholarships could be funded with this money. What a waste!

Anonymous said...

Shouldn't UNC Chapel Hill focus on academics?

Anonymous said...

What a waste of our money! We cannot even fill the current complex and now build bigger? Terrible.

Anonymous said...

Come on Observer---where are the articles and editorials knocking Chapel Hill for raising/spending this kind of money given our economy? You rip Charlotte at every turn, so lets hear it, rip on Chapel Hill!...........Hellllllo, I'm waiting.........

Anonymous said...

privately financed means neither the state, the school, nor the university system paid for it. accordingly, it in no way detracts from scholarship funds, academics, or the university budget. Come on people... direct your anger elsewhere (like towards BP).

Anonymous said...

People donate for different things and in this case UNC is putting the donations to the this facility. Whether it is what one agrees with it is great to see a construction project moving forward at this time.

Anonymous said...

The Kansas Jayhawks should be worried. People within the athletics department were running an illegal ticket scalping business with a couple of guys that are involved with summer basketball teams. Players from these teams have signed basketball scholarships to Kansas. If this isn't a recruiting violation, I don't know what is.

To extrapolate this a little further- David and Dana Pump are involved with selling Kansas basketball tickets, making huge amounts of money, and then funneling recruits to Kansas. The kicker is that Roy Williams was the coach when the ticket scalping began.

Anonymous said...

Like most other athletic facilities that been built or expanded at Carolina, the east end zone is privately financed. It's not taking any money away from the scholarship endowment and will be a major assest to the student-athletes at Carolina. This project is not just adding seats to the stadium, it's giving the university a first class facility to house academic support programs, strength and conditioning and the Carolina Leadership Academy right in the middle of campus.

Anonymous said...

This is privately funded so what is the uproar about? If you are concerned about academics, then you would notice the academic and leadership center will also be housed in this complex. As an alumnus, I donate money to BOTH academics and sports, as do many of my fellow Heels. How about everyone worry about oil spills and soldiers dying instead of where private donors spend their money!

Anonymous said...

So this statement applies to Chapel Hill but not to UNCC?

"The Carolina Center for Excellence will help us provide exceptional academic support to our nearly 800 student-athletes," Baddour said in a statement. "It also creates a new source of revenue that over the next 30 years will help us maintain the broad-based, 28-sport program we have long enjoyed."

Anonymous said...

Id be embarrassed to send a child to UNC anymore...most corrupt cesspool of inbred people in the state all funded by nasty democrackkks...

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:19 - What with about 90% of the people who receive paychecks from the Observer being UNC-CH graduates, I advise against holding your breath on that one.

Anonymous said...

Why can't athletes study in the library like the other students?

Anonymous said...

I await the Observer's editorials bashing this announcement, just like for 49er football.


I have a feeling the wait will be a long one.

Anonymous said...

seems like a lot of money being poured out for a pedestrian football program.

Anonymous said...

"I await the Observer's editorials bashing this announcement, just like for 49er football.

I have a feeling the wait will be a long one."

No doubt. The double standard is amazing. But it's what we've come to expect from the UNC-CH fluffers and the CO.

Anonymous said...

Can you idiots read???,,,,,There is NO public money being used:

Sales of club seats and suites began in October of 2009 and will provide about half the funding of the $70 million project. Private donations will supply the rest of the funds, and the athletic department will not use state funds in the project.

Read more: http://obsfifty.blogspot.com/2010/05/unc-trustees-approve-kenan-expansion.html#ixzz0p9MEWvzw

Anonymous said...

Does everyone remember Bill Friday and CD Spangler going to UNCC and saying college football threatened the integrity of academia and how football was nothing more than entertainment? Where are those two old goats now? Hopefully they are looking for the integrity they lost while trying to sabotage all 16 UNC systems schools outside of their own alma mater in Chapel Hill. John Edwards was the beginning of the end of the deceit within the circle of power. And what about Bonny Cone, what would she say about the wasteful spending on tarheel football? Seems like Spangler and Friday could read her mind just a few years ago.

Anonymous said...

10:06: UNC does focus on academics.
-This year, our students won 2 Rhodes scholarships, our 44 and 45th and giving us the second-highest total amongst all public universities.
-Our incoming freshman class has an average SAT of over 1300 and over 75 finished in the top 10% of their high school class.

Anonymous said...

i am suprised that the Charlotte Observer hasn't posted how to buy tickets to the new section.

Focus on academics is all the 49ers were told, at every turn.

Anonymous said...

"UNC does focus on academics."

Julius Peppers thanks Kerliner!

Anonymous said...

How about the taxpayers on the hook for the Dean Dome? Hypocrisy! UNC-CH has been transformed into gutter $chool. How much is Butch paying players these days?

Anonymous said...

UNC should be ashamed of themselves. As a grandmother, I am embarrassed I graduated from UNC-CH.

Anonymous said...

"Can you idiots read???,,,,,There is NO public money being used"

This isn't about private vs. public funds. It's about the Observer and certain trustees arguing that football should not be a part of UNCC's athletic program. They argued that the funding for football be used for academic programs instead.

As far as the use of the term "idiot", I'm guessing your a Tarheel that feels like your smarter than everyone else...

Anonymous said...

IT'S WHAT COLLEGE IS ALL ABOUT. QUITE COMPLAINING AND SHUT UP!!!

Anonymous said...

Since 2000, UNC Chapel Hill has been asking the state taxpayers for $650 million in bond money to repair existing academic buildings in disrepair. Before receiving the money, UNC decides to completely remodel their three biggest athletic facilities. They know the corrupt state legislature will fund their needs because the legacy of former leaders is at stake. One must wonder why Bill Friday was chosen as the founding co-chair of the Knight Commission who tells everyone else how to run their business. Those watching tv see the athletic facilities but not the crumbling academic buildings.

Anonymous said...

What a bunch of haters! Typical nasty Charlotte residents.

Anonymous said...

This is a great day for all Tarheels. Hopefully, we will now see a world class facility like the Wolfpack built with fewer resources. Tarheel Football will be National Contenders with the best facility in NC and soon the nation. The best money spent in years! Thanks affluent donors!

Anonymous said...

There are already 20,000 empty seats per home UNC football game now! Why increase the visibility of the aluminum? What a waste of money! We know, we know. UNC is the best, yada yada yada. Drop the arrogant attitude Holes!

Anonymous said...

It is replacing something that was built in the Hoover administration. What, do you want 100 years out of the building. No public funds so quit crying! As for 20,000 empty seats a game, this isn't 2003. Butch is building a top 10 program so climb onboard or quit crying!!

Anonymous said...

As a donor to the Charlotte 49er football program, I was told numerous times by certain folks at the Observer that I should spend MY money on academics instead.
Where are the nasty editorials against this? I guess all those writers have since been canned.

Chapel Hill doesn't need to focus their private money on acedemics because they get way more than their share from the State of NC in tax money.

Anonymous said...

READ THE ARTICLE YOU MORONS. The money is private funds donated.

Anonymous said...

Go Heels......Trust Me.....UNC will bring in lots of money off their Football Program with Davis leading the way......GO Heels

Anonymous said...

"READ THE ARTICLE YOU MORONS. The money is private funds donated."

Read the comments MORON, this isn't about private vs. public funds. It's about the Observer and certain trustees arguing that football should not be a part of UNCC's athletic program. They argued that the funding for football be used for academic programs instead.

Anonymous said...

Go Heels......Trust Me.....UNC will pay lots of money to recruits and continue to build a shady program filled with miscreants and thugs. Good job Butch bringing Miami's Thug U motto. This is ruining Carolina's image! This is unacceptable!

Anonymous said...

FWIW, the Rams Club footed the bill for the Smith Center, but now NC taxpayers are on the hook for $2MM per year.

I wonder how long it will be before the taxpayers have to subsidize Kenan?

Anonymous said...

The impact that football and basketball have on the overall welfare of a university cannot be overlooked. Those sports bring in the money to allow the non-revenue sports to function, giving many people the opportunity to receive a college education. The publicity schools receive from tv appearances help attract interest in the university when kids are applying to college, often raising the caliber of students enrolling. Athletics are an essential aspect to a university and the college experience. People like Dr. Friday, who downplay the role of athletics at universities have a narrow mided outlook on the purpose of going to college.

UNCC has wanted a program for a long time and if they can get the money together they should have one, despite what critics think.

As a Carolina alum, I am thrilled that this has finally been approved. This addition will have a positive impact on the university overall, not to mention adding a fantastic touch to one of the best places in the country to watch a football game.

Anonymous said...

The only people who don't hate tarheel sports are the uneducated morons who pay $20 for a hat that suggests they went to college when they never did. UNC Chapel Hill refuses to recognize the hundreds of thousands who HATE tarheel everything because of the arrogance and self promotion while shoving it down the taxpayer's throats. If not for a corrupt state legislature, UNC Chapel Hill would be no more on the minds of the people than UNC Pembroke is. And oh yeah, you are delusional to believe you are as educated and blue blooded as a private school grad who pays $40,000 a year in tution. Duke is BETTER than UNC.

John W. said...

The underlying suggestion by these posters is that UNC is doing business differently than any other school or athletic program.

NC State does it, South Carolina does it -- everyone does it this way.

This money would not have been donated were it not for athletics. It's not as though these donors are going to give to academics in the absence of a football or basketball program to support.

If you can get money out of athletic donors that will somehow benefit academics, then you've done well as a University.

Athletics at Carolina, in a manner more substantive than any other North Carolina program, benefit academics.

Comparing what UNC-C football will be to what UNC athletics already are, with regard to their respective profitability and net benefits, is a bit daft.

Football and basketball at UNC make all of their other sports possible, and they help educate (that's excluding their influence on applicant pools, the university profile, etc.).

kickazzz2000 said...

John W, how dare you bring a sensible comment into this foaming-at-the-mouth hate fest?

Anonymous said...

Funny. What sport does Harvard excel at? Don't they have the biggest endowment in the country? So a suggestion that without sports there would be no financial backers is a joke. 95% of tarheel fans are not alums of the school and don't give to your endowment anyway. It's just a shame that UNC Chapel Hill is so heavily dependent on athletics to MAINTAIN what they have. Without tarheel basketball UNC would have never won the first place in Kiplingers Best Values multiple years. Now you have Lebo at ECU, Peterson at UNCW, Capel at App State and the first game played in UNC Asheville's new arena will be against the durn tarheels. WE don't want what you have but you force us to take it. It would all change with an honest state legislature who voted on new NCBOG members.

Anonymous said...

The University of North Carolina is the flagship school of the UNC system. Carolina is a national brand and the simple UNC in UNCW,UNCG,UNCC etc. makes those schools more known. Take UNC out of the system and what are you left with? NC State and a bunch of commuter schools. We are talking about a university that has served this state for over 200 years and has done as much if not more than any other school in North Carolina. The Carolina First campaign a few years ago raised over $2 billion for the university endowment. Carolina could do just fine without athletics, but then those people who are always looking for new ways to trash UNC Chapel Hill will have too much time on their hands.

Anonymous said...

With less than half UNC's history, and 1/10 of an alumni base, Duke University has twice the endowment of UNC Chapel Hill. Not only does UNC Chapel Hill control 17 UNC system schools but they are determined to never let go of control over 12 ACC schools while playing the athletic tournaments mostly in NC every year. If not for sports everyone would ask, is that a University of North Colorado shirt you have on? The state capitol is in Raleigh so there is no reason UNC Chapel Hill should be micromanaging politics, education and business in the state. Look at all the criminals that have went down over the past 5years who have degrees from Chapel Hill and who were caught breaking the law to maintain control over state politics.

John W. said...

NO ONE with any sense is suggesting that without sport UNC would have no financing. You cannot deny it helps, however.

Actually, you don't deny it helps, essentially contradicting your own argument by describing how sad it is that UNC is so "heavily dependent" on athletics to "maintain."

The point about finance was confined to this discussion. THIS money would not have been donated for any other purpose. It was given by people interested in UNC athletics, and for the express purpose of improving athletics programs.

There is a built-in benefit to academics in this project because there are buildings going up that will be used to educate. If money given for athletics can be used to benefit education, then that's a job well done.

Football and basketball are only a benefit to UNC. At some other schools that is not the case. So if you're looking to nit pick, you should do it off of some other hairy back. Maybe your sister's.

Oh, and the endowment point is total bunk.

UNC has one of the largest endowments in the nation, particularly among public schools. Private schools are always at the advantage endowment wise.

Who's going to donate more? The state school kid who is managing a few thousand a year to attend UNC, or the Duke University family, which is able to afford nearly 40k in tuition? Please, think about what you're writing before you spew next time.

There are only 14 universities with higher ratings with regard to endowment sustainability than UNC (yes, that's from Wikipedia).

You can't go on with the UNC fans not being alums, either. That's simply not relevant, because you know UNC's athletic popularity is a boon -- you and the boxed-in-brains like you just enjoy bringing up the so-called non-alum UNC fan base.

I'd certainly rather have that fan base than any other fan base in the Carolinas. Does anyone really think that any of their friends who are Duke fans actually got into Duke? I only know a few, and that's only because I went to graduate school there for a few semesters.

Check the store shelves -- there's plenty of ugly, red NCSU crap too.

kickazzz2000 said...

To add to John W's comment, I would like to further address this silly "Wal-Mart" "non-alum" fanbase nonsense. UNC has the most such fans in the area because UNC is historically successful. Guess who probably has the 2nd most in our area? Probably Duke. (I could be wrong, it might be NC State)

I'll take that over having attended a school that nobody's ever heard of other than its alumni.

North Carolina is a weird place (I grew up here) I've met people from Ohio that I've assumed went to OSU (obsessive Buckeye sports fans). Turns out they went to Ohio U, Ball State, Akron, Dayton, Case, Toledo..everywhere but OSU. Hardcore Buckeyes fans. I don't quite get that either, but its interesting to note how Ohio seems to be the polar opposite of NC in that regard.

Maybe UNC should emphasise the word "THE" ;)

kickazzz2000 said...

Not sure what happened to my punctuation up there....oh well.

Anonymous said...

Still waiting for the observer editorial.

Anonymous said...

This always going to happen, but the timing was probably off. When academics (and athletics at the smaller UNC schools) are being cut to a serious level, it isn't the time to make a big splash for a program that seems satisfied to be second fiddle to our basketball program.

Anonymous said...

John W,

Who is this "UNC" that you speak of? UNC is the name of the University System in North Carolina.

John W. said...

Yeah, because no one calls The University of North Carolina, which existed before all other public schools in the state, "UNC," and no shirts sold on campus have the same acronym stitched on.

Be sure to let virtually every medium that produces NCAA content know about your desire for clarification with regard to the UNC title. Fix that whole USC non-sense while you're at it.

Did anyone (you?) ever call NC State, "North Carolina State University at Raleigh," as the school was officially named when it moved on from the "State College" moniker?


At least try to make a point that matters.

Anonymous said...

UNC Pembroke football is more relevant on the D2 football than UNC is on the D1 level. UNC rooters need to stop treating the other UNCs(Greensboro-Asheville-Wilmington-Pembroke-Charlotte) as inferior.

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