FAU's quest for stadium inches forward
By Marcus Nelson
By now you have probably heard there was a major development concerning Florida Atlantic's football stadium on Wednesday.
And the most significant news about where the Owls will play their football games in the future came when the
Baltimore Orioles decided to move their spring training to Sarasota, apparently ensuring Lockhart Stadium will be around for the next several years. Unfortunately, it looks like this news will impact FAU, because it seems like there is little chance the Owls will be playing on campus in 2010.
Oh, some are saying there was some big "stadium news" coming out of the FAU Board of Trustees meeting as officials signed a development deal with Crocker Partners to get the first stage of the Innovation Village rolling.
Kudos to FAU for making progress, but the biggest question of the die-hard football fans I talk to wasn't addressed. When will FAU break ground on the stadium and will it be ready by 2010?
I'm all for "due dillegence" but it was hardly re-assuring that Innnovation Village point man David Kian was emphatic in saying the money FAU will get from Crocker Partners isn't necessarily all going to stadium financing.
"This is an absolutely stand-alone project," Kian told trustees. "The revenue this project derives can be applied to a stadium. It can be applied to other projects as well that are a part of Innovation Village."
While the deal with Crocker Partners is a step (albeit a baby one) in the right direction in terms of FAU finally getting its on-campus stadium, there are too many things that have to to happen before ground-breaking - including securing naming rights.
FAU is still holding out hope it can play perhaps some late-season games in the propsed new stadium in 2010. I say what FAU should really be happy about is that Lockhart Stadium will still be around for a few more years. You know, just in case this project keeps at the current pace.