Oregon State officials say stadium expansion has helped pay for itself in many ways

By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Corvallis Gazette-Times

CORVALLIS — Year 1 of the new Reser Stadium isn’t complete, yet returns on the investment have been pouring in.

But was the $93 million project worth the effort eight months after completion?

Yes, says Oregon State money cruncher Todd Stansbury. The executive associate athletic director supervises the business operations of the athletic department, and expects more growth to come with the next stage of construction, maybe as soon as after this football season.

The expanded venue helped the overall athletic program’s budget, and should keep the Beavers competitive with the rest of the nation. Then there are the intangibles.

“Look at the success across the board, it’s phenomenal,” Stansbury said. “And with the coaches we’ve attracted the last couple years, anyone associated with Oregon State athletics should be pretty excited about the future.”

Stansbury is optimistic because he’s looking at the books. The Beavers made a little more than $37.2 million in 2004-05, clearing $1.1 million after all the expenses. That was the last year without the rebuilt stadium revenue.

While the budget increased for the 2005-06 season by $10 million, OSU expects to handle the increase when all the numbers are in by July.

Here’s why.

“(Athletic director) Bob De Carolis looked into the future, and the only way to keep the athletic department fiscally sound was that you had to increase the inventory of what that stadium could produce,” Stansbury said. “When you generate at total capacity at the level it was, there was no where we could go without expanding the stadium.”

The Beavers sold out the 36,000-seat stadium for nearly five years. The most OSU could get out of a season was $8 million, according to Stansbury. With the new configuration of 43,000 seats there’s $20 million available.

Most of the added money comes from donations, not tickets sales on the extra 7,000 seats. There has yet to be a sellout in the new stadium.

OSU places donation dollar values on select season tickets, and fans must donate money to the Beaver Athletic Student Fund before they are allowed to buy tickets in the Club Level or Loge sections.

With more amenities and plush seats, the higher the ticket price. And that means a higher donation level.

“It was well worth the money,” said Randy Jones, a longtime Corvallis businessman and season ticket holder. “It’s a family affair with my grandchildren. They love the social activities and ambiance, and I’m there for the football. I think it exceeds everything anyone could have imagined.”

Jones understands economics as a 16-year owner of a car dealership, so he donates more than just the cost of the tickets. Jones wants OSU to grow on the field and in the classroom. It means more people in town who need cars.

“The economic impact to the area is significant,” Jones said. “The athletic department doesn’t need me to tell them we need to get bigger and better. The stadium hasn’t been filled, yet. But winning drives that. It was worth the risk to build for the future, but they need to see significant success to keep it going.”

OSU is at the forefront in donations tied to ticket sales. Rival Oregon received nearly $270,000 in donations for the football team in 2004-05, while the Beavers received $10.5 million. Most of that is direct support for the stadium.

However, it’s not slowing down now that Phase I of the renovations are complete. As of Dec. 31, 2004, the BASF donations were about $5 million. One year later after seeing the finished stadium, the BASF was up to $10.1 million. And there’s a waiting list to get into the high-end seats, according to De Carolis.

“The idea of donor levels is something that has been around for 20 years,” Stansbury said. “Different schools are at different points where they are at with that scenario.”

Padding the books or just good salesmanship, it’s working. And the rest of the department feels the benefit.

De Carolis has been able to make three high-profile coaching hires in the past year in Taras Liskevych for volleyball, LaVonda Wagner in women’s basketball and Jim Zalesky for wrestling.

Volleyball and women’s basketball made strides on the court after one season with new coaches. Zalesky is working toward his first season.

“Bob De Carolis is committed to a broad-based athletic program,” Stansbury said. “He wants all our sports to compete at the highest level. What the stadium allows us to do is invest money in those programs across the board so we are able to do that. Bottom line, that’s why you do it.”

Then there’s the subtle use of the stadium. Recruits, potential coaches and investors are impressed. The football team signed 30 players in the last class, and other sports are using Reser as an eye-catcher when hosting athletes.

“What it tells the recruits in all sports is that Oregon State is serious about its athletics program,” Stansbury said.

Department heads bring donors into the luxury suites and show them a good time. People with disposable income also tend to look at education, arts and sciences for their philanthropy.

With a good view of the campus from the stadium, the university frequently benefits beyond athletics.

“This is why I wanted to be a part of Oregon State,” Wagner said of the commitment to athletics. “There are good things going on here.”

That’s why Stansbury says it was well worth the original $93 million. And that leads to the more than $30 million Phase II, which is athlete-and-student based.

Read more about the Beavers on the Oregon State blog at www.gazettetimes.com.