December 5, 2008
Daily Lobo
$17M more set aside for Pit renovation
Regents will take money from stadium, energy unit installation
By: Maggie YbarraThe regents approved a reallocation of funds that will put another $17 million toward remodeling The Pit.
The money, which UNM raised by selling system revenue bonds in 2007, was initially slated to pay for a second cogeneration energy unit and renovations to University Stadium, said Andrew Cullen, associate vice president of Planning, Budget and Analysis.
Cullen said $14 million will be taken from the stadium project and $3 million from the cogeneration unit. UNM has one cogeneration unit already in place, and it generates one-third of the campus' energy.
"Originally, in the 2007 bond issue, we had $25 million for The Pit," he said. "In addition to the $25 million, we have just under $18 million from the state, and now with this $17 million reallocated from the projects, we now have $60 million for The Pit."
Duane Brown, an attorney who worked on the 2007 revenue bonds, drew up a resolution saying that the regents may legally reallocate bond funds without the consent of the bonds' owners.
Regents President Jamie Koch said it was imperative to redirect the money because the stadium and cogeneration projects would not have been able to pay themselves off.
"There wasn't enough money that they felt could be generated by putting boxes in (University Stadium) or doing other things over there that would be able to cover that $14 million," Koch said.
Koch said The Pit is better equipped to generate revenue from the sale of tickets, luxury boxes and concessions.
David Harris, executive vice president of Business and Finance, said that if The Pit can pull in the revenue Isotopes Park did after it was renovated, it could repay its bond debt more quickly than expected.
"We financed the Isotopes stadium on hotdogs and T-shirts, and nobody thought we could do it, but they retired that debt, and at accelerated pay," Harris said.
Cullen said a remodeled Pit will bring in an influx of people.
"I think that Lobo basketball is arguably the most recognized sport in New Mexico, and when there is a quality team on the court, both men and women, people are excited about going, and they're willing to pay the cost of the ticket," he said. "And while they're there, they're maybe going to have something to eat and maybe pick up some Lobo gear."
Cullen said the price of tickets will not increase.
Single ticket prices range from $4 to $11, based on age and seating.
Koch said other University projects may have their funds reallocated or cut off entirely based on their ability to generate revenue.
"The question you've got to look at is what is in the future, and the future is not very good," he said.
Koch said the student day care center project, championed by GPSA, will not move forward, because it likely won't generate enough profit to sustain itself.
"Well, so the situation is that we're probably not going to be able to do that because we don't know where the money would come from to start that, and we do not know if there would be a revenue stream from the parents that have their children there," he said. "So, projects like that - anything that's coming up new - isn't going to be done because you have to have the revenue and the means to pay for that project."