Sid: Strong indications that Regents will approve $40MM in borrowing for facilities

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Fair enough, but I still don't see how it's a major issue. The money that will end up coming from the university will be minimal (in scope) and the majority of it will end up being funded privately. If the school steps in and sees the project as something that makes financial sense for it to contribute to, then so be it. I'm sure the original goal was to get it all done privately, powers that be want it done sooner to keep Kill in place so the school thinks throwing 20M is a acceptable price to pay to make both things happen.

End of story, right?
 

Gopher Warrior said:
You're misreading me if you think I have made the $190MM having been scaled back an issue - the issue is that it HASN'T been scaled back. We agree - the amounts are overboard, but it's still a "$190MM campaign to be entirely funded by private donations." That is ridiculous and needs to change. The only thing that has changed - per public comments from the U - is that the scope of the project has been reduced (still $190MM, just getting less for that $190MM). Specifically, the teardown of Bierman and new buildings for various sports was the initial plan. Now, the plan is to re-purpose existing structures. Same price tag.



I'm not arguing against ANY of this. In fact, I have consistently argued FOR this. My issue is not only the high $190MM price tag, but the bigger issue is that the plan is to fund the project entirely via private donations to the athletic department. Hop over to the main page at NothingShortOfGreatness.com - it's right there for anyone to read. Nothing confusing about it:

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Now, two years ago the article Minnesota's Facilities Plan Set Up For Failure was published. In it we said the following. Hopefully this helps your understanding of where I stand.



Again, there are now rumors of the U doing what they should have already done... and, if they start construction this summer/fall by following the ideas presented by LNH a couple of years ago - that is great! It doesn't change the fact that some time has been wasted and it does present potential for folks to be upset because this would be a huge change from "funded entirely by private donations to the athletic department," but I still believe it's what is necessary unless you get an enormous gift from someone.
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The "private" aspect is/was a public relations maneuver to stop the media and other individuals from campaigning against the facilities due to fears of an eventual asking for public dollars. They didn't want negative press and negative pressure stopping or slowing down donations.

You're not clued in at all.

LNH, a one man outfit that couldn't organize a one-car funeral. LOL! What a clown show.
 

TruthSeeker said:
The "private" aspect is/was a public relations maneuver to stop the media and other individuals from campaigning against the facilities due to fears of an eventual asking for public dollars. They didn't want negative press and negative pressure stopping or slowing down donations.

You're not clued in at all.

LNH, a one man outfit that couldn't organize a one-car funeral. LOL! What a clown show.
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This.
Norwood and Kaler knew going into this that the same people who have been against facilities upgrades internally and externally would be at it again with this project.
There are powerful people at the U and in this state who still believe the football program should be folded in the interest of the academic high road. At the very least they still believe the football program as the face of the university athletics program should be funded as little as possible, or evenly in all aspects with women's rowing, men's golf, etc.
Things have been kept as quiet publicly as possible until the project is inevitable.
What about this is a problem? There are no rules here except get it done.
 

So you guys believe the following?

"Teague, pres K & crew knowingly & intentionally deceived the public when stating repeatedly that the project would be funded entirely by private donations."

Interesting. Think they'll fess up to this? Lol
 

Gopher Warrior said:
So you guys believe the following?

"Teague, pres K & crew knowingly & intentionally deceived the public when stating repeatedly that the project would be funded entirely by private donations."

Interesting. Think they'll fess up to this? Lol
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Of course they won't fess up to it. Don't be childish.

It's called controlling the narrative. Often times, the media portrayal of things like this are outcome determinative. So you use strong public relations and disciplined communications upfront to keep the naysayers at bay. Then you see how much money you can raise. If you raise it all, then great. If not, then you borrow and bond. This was the deal from the get go. As long as they don't ask for taxpayer dollars they can claim a victory without taking a hit from the media or the public.

You clearly don't understand media strategy and the media. LNH is amateur hour. LOL!

Don't quit your day job. Leave the heavy lifting to the big boys.
 


Gopher Warrior said:
So you guys believe the following?

"Teague, pres K & crew knowingly & intentionally deceived the public when stating repeatedly that the project would be funded entirely by private donations."

Interesting. Think they'll fess up to this? Lol
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The assertion here being the public should be in an uproar over how the "rules" changed in the way the project is being funded? Even though the University has not asked for public money for part of the funding?
 

scools12 said:
The assertion here being the public should be in an uproar over how the "rules" changed in the way the project is being funded? Even though the University has not asked for public money for part of the funding?
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No; if this belief of other people is true (ie, intentional deception), I'd find that problematic.

If the rules change & things get done, my response will simply be "great, about time!"... but I would imagine it will not go over well with some people.

I don't see everyone saying, "hehehe we knew u were BSing us with the private donation crap! Hehe, great job!"
 

Gopher Warrior said:
No; if this belief of other people is true (ie, intentional deception), I'd find that problematic.

If the rules change & things get done, my response will simply be "great, about time!"... but I would imagine it will not go over well with some people.

I don't see everyone saying, "hehehe we knew u were BSing us with the private donation crap! Hehe, great job!"
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I can understand the belief that there was intentional deception if taxpayer money was being used being but as of now that isn't the case. I am having a hard time seeing that point of view unless somehow those people are now being forced to contribute to the funding.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
No; if this belief of other people is true (ie, intentional deception), I'd find that problematic.

If the rules change & things get done, my response will simply be "great, about time!"... but I would imagine it will not go over well with some people.

I don't see everyone saying, "hehehe we knew u were BSing us with the private donation crap! Hehe, great job!"
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I still don't get it. Why is this supposed to be a problem?
The rules on how to do this are made by the U, period.
They can change them, throw them out, follow them by the letter, etc.
It doesn't matter as long as they get the project done, which would be made tougher by spilling all the details of everything publicly and allowing political snipers to have a field day with the numbers.

The planning has been going on behind the scenes all winter, Kill has been a part of this, the fundraising was never going to be a limiting factor it was just how they were going to come by the money in time to get the ground broken ASAP.
 



Stop feeding the troll! Gopher Warrior is a giant tool who I have thankfully blocked...but you troll feeders keep reposting his spew in your responses. If we all just blocked him it would be like he doesn't exist...and wouldn't that be grand!
 

The only rules that exist are in the fragmented mind of our resident conspiracy theorist with an agenda and strange vendetta against the current administration. There are also no indications yet that the loans will be paid off by anything other than private donations. With that said, the AD has been looking at all funding sources from the beginning, I specifically asked Teague this question when the feasibility study was announced. You'd have to be extremely naive to think that the donations wouldn't come in over a pledged time frame and that construction loans, no matter where the source, would be a necessity.

To insinuate that we are somehow behind schedule due to unrealistic goals is also laughable. The feasibility study talked about the fundraising being a 6-8 year process. We are months away from breaking ground on a 150 MILLION DOLLAR athletic facility less than 2 years after the project was announced and less than 1 year after the fundraising campaign was officially kicked off. I'm extremely impressed to date with the vision of Teague and I will be elated when that first shovel hits the ground this fall. This is great for Gopher fans and athletes.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
Again, there are now rumors of the U doing what they should have already done... and, if they start construction this summer/fall by following the ideas presented by LNH a couple of years ago - that is great!
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So your struggling one-man blog has ideas and views sort of like The New York Times and you now are the spokesman for it? Can sort of understand if this harping by you is a desperate. attempt to get people to look at it. I suspect it's not though, and you really do think you're the brightest guy in the room despite not having a clue about how most people see you. One of the great stock characters in literature is the pompous fool so we have that role filled if anyone ever makes a movie called "Down the GopherHole."
 

I think I figured it out. GW was not given media passes by the current administration because of their correct assumption that he is not really a member of the media. So he is peeved and wants revenge. Pretty pathetic. Almost as pathetic as having caricatures of two high school kids as his avatar. Actually, that is just really creepy.
 



DLguy said:
I think I figured it out. GW was not given media passes by the current administration because of their correct assumption that he is not really a member of the media. So he is peeved and wants revenge. Pretty pathetic. Almost as pathetic as having caricatures of two high school kids as his avatar. Actually, that is just really creepy.
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You could be on to something.

Pretty obvious the guy has 'issues'.

Still wondering how much he pays for advertising his site.
 

TruthSeeker said:
Of course they won't fess up to it. Don't be childish.

It's called controlling the narrative. Often times, the media portrayal of things like this are outcome determinative. So you use strong public relations and disciplined communications upfront to keep the naysayers at bay. Then you see how much money you can raise. If you raise it all, then great. If not, then you borrow and bond. This was the deal from the get go. As long as they don't ask for taxpayer dollars they can claim a victory without taking a hit from the media or the public.

You clearly don't understand media strategy and the media. LNH is amateur hour. LOL!

Don't quit your day job. Leave the heavy lifting to the big boys.
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If strong public relations and disciplined communications are the key to this project, I am terrified, because that is not our department's forte.

Can't see what GW is going on about, thus far I have not seen any requests for public money for this project.
 

DLguy said:
I think I figured it out. GW was not given media passes by the current administration because of their correct assumption that he is not really a member of the media. So he is peeved and wants revenge. Pretty pathetic. Almost as pathetic as having caricatures of two high school kids as his avatar. Actually, that is just really creepy.
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To be fair, these two are going pro this fall. :rolleyes:
 

spackler said:
And we all know the per square foot cost to build stays the same over time.
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Can you break down the cost per square foot for me? Site costs, hard costs, soft costs? These numbers are really high. Wake up.
 

DLguy said:
I think I figured it out. GW was not given media passes by the current administration because of their correct assumption that he is not really a member of the media. So he is peeved and wants revenge. Pretty pathetic. Almost as pathetic as having caricatures of two high school kids as his avatar. Actually, that is just really creepy.
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You may very well have solved the mystery!
 

tjgopher said:
You keep citing the $150 million as if it is only for the football complex. It isn't. It includes the basketball practice facilities, the Olympic sports upgrades, etc.

To keep in comparison: Iowa has now completed both a football complex and a basketball practice facility to the tune of about $115 million since 2011. I don't believe the Iowa plan included as many Olympic sports upgrade, nor the nutrition or academic center.
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I'm well aware the 150MM includes the football, basketball, and LOL center. If you had done any research at all, you'd know the Iowa basketball facility addition was folded into a full renovation of Carver-Hawkeye arena and renovation of the wrestling and volleyball facilities, so get back to me when Williams Arena is renovated. Also, 55+47 = 102.

The LOL Center was supposed to cost 15MM.

Twenty million here, twenty million there. Who's counting.

With the sharps on this board, it's any wonder we have the government we do. "No Questions Asked" is the motto. "In Teague We Trust". "Whatever the price is, it's not high enough".

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Not sure what the Lots of Love Center is, but it sounds nice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Spoofin said:
Not sure what the Lots of Love Center is, but it sounds nice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Laugh Out Loud Center. It's where Pompous does his stand-up routine.
 

Unless someone here has the Amazing Carnaks ability to see the future this argument is moot.

When did we come to the conclusion that the funds were coming from the athletic dept, the general fund or even the public??

They said it was being built with private donations. Until one of the above entities start putting in non-retrievable funds, they are merely banking.

Money is lent. Loans earn interest and are repaid. There is nothing......nothing......that says those same loans will not be repaid by PRIVATE donation.

You CAN argue whether or not it is good business practice, but you can't argue public/ad/general footing the bill until they actually do so.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
I'm well aware the 150MM includes the football, basketball, and LOL center. If you had done any research at all, you'd know the Iowa basketball facility addition was folded into a full renovation of Carver-Hawkeye arena and renovation of the wrestling and volleyball facilities, so get back to me when Williams Arena is renovated. Also, 55+47 = 102.

The LOL Center was supposed to cost 15MM.
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I misunderstood what your point, I'm sorry. It seemed you kept comparing $190 million to $55 million at Iowa and wondering what was going on. When, in essence the better comparison would be $150 million to $102 million. Certainly, that is still a significant difference, but not what it seemed you were implying, so my apologies if I mistook your point.

About the Carver-Hawkeye Arena and Iowa Football facility, I'm fairly well-researched on it. I've actually toured the Carver-Hawkeye "renovation," the new basketball and wrestling/volleyball facility and the Iowa football practice facility. The basketball part of it is fairly basic, but serves their purpose.

I was told the fact it was folded into a "full renovation" allowed them to keep costs down. They were able to use infrastructure and materials already in existence and improve upon those, with a little less than half of the project consisting of new, stand-alone construction. Carver-Hawkeye sits on a fairly small footprint and is imbedded into a hillside, so there were limits as to what they could do expansion wise. I'd add that to call the arena portion of Carver-Hawkeye a "full renovation" is a misnomer. They basically added several rows of fancy seating near courtside for big donors and a "donor's lounge" located in the bowels of the facility. That lounge is almost embarrassingly simple. That's it for the actual arena portion of the renovation. The rest is really the same as what Minnesota is doing....new offices, new practice facilities, weight rooms, etc.

Minnesota is also able to use some existing building and infrastructure at Bierman, but has more "from scratch, stand-alone, new" construction.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Can you break down the cost per square foot for me? Site costs, hard costs, soft costs? These numbers are really high. Wake up.
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Have you broke it down for us? You're comparing a completely different project built in Iowa City in 2009 to a 2015 Minneapolis project?

Check out ENR's Construction Cost Index and start breaking it down for us before you start complaining and comparing apples to oranges.
 

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It can't be true...it's all a lie...everyone is lying...we were tricked...Teague should be fired and replaced with Lou Nanne, the real AD...
 

per the STrib:

Gophers Athletics Director Norwood Teague said Tuesday that the university plans to break ground on its $150 million athletics village in mid-August.

The Gophers have raised more than $70 million toward the project, and Teague said, "We’ve got some pretty significant gifts that we’re getting down to the wire on which are really encouraging."

"We’ll finance a little bit of [the $150 million total]," Teague said during a break from the Big Ten administrative meetings. "We were planning to do that all along to use some future revenues because you can bond at a great rate right now. And we just need to get to where, middle of the summer we’re at about 80 percent of [$150 million], which I’m confident we’ll get there."

http://www.startribune.com/teague-s...on-athletics-village-in-mid-august/304296641/

Go Gophers!!
 


Personally, I won't believe it until Gopher Warrior says it it true. He is the only one I can trust for the real truth.

P.S. I forgot, what is the over/under date for him getting banned on The Gopher Hole?:rolleyes:
 

There will be no problem with the Board of Regents approving the funding. It's a done deal.
 

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