U of M stadium plan overwhelmingly endorsed by undergraduate student government

Contacts: Daniel Wolter, University News Service, (651) 485-3214 (cell)
Jeff Falk, University News Service, (612) 964-7236 (cell)

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (03/28/2006) — The organization that represents undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota passed a resolution today supporting the revised plan to build an on campus football stadium for the Golden Gophers.The Minnesota Student Association (MSA) passed the measure nearly unanimously, with only one dissenting vote.
"We are encouraged by the support of our undergraduate student government," said university President Robert Bruininks."The overwhelming support of our student leaders signals a clear commitment to bringing football back to campus. Our students join a growing coalition of university stakeholders in support of our fiscally responsible and reasonable stadium proposal. As momentum has grown over the last week, it now lies in the hands of the Legislature to make an on-campus Gopher football stadium a reality."
The revised Gopher stadium bill, which passed out of the Senate Higher Education Budget Division today, would sell 2,840 acres of the university’s UMore Park property in Dakota County to the State of Minnesota.The land would be used to create a large metropolitan area nature reserve.The state would then finance half of the cost of the new stadium, approximately $9.4 million per year for 25 years.As a result of the increased state share of the stadium cost, the university has said it will be able to reduce the proposed student fee from $50 per semester to $25.In addition to funding the new stadium, the student fee will also provide students with discounted tickets to football games as well as other athletic and cultural events at the university as well as a range of other benefits.
The endorsement by MSA comes just one day after a similar endorsement by the Faculty Consultative Committee which represents university faculty.