I think another component here, and it's one Barry talks about a lot, is the much higher cost of doing similar projects in State College versus nearly every other big time football college campus. Excerpt below (believe the information is a bit old, but still relevant - way more expensive in State College than Tuscaloosa for example):
Why does it cost so much?
Or, more to the point:
Why does it cost so much MORE for Penn State to take on a project than it costs similar institutions to take on similar projects?
As shown above, several highly-successful collegiate football programs who recently undertook new construction / renovations to their football facilities. Let’s take a look at the costs:
For context, this is the scope of the Lasch Building project: Renovation of the 89,000 square foot facility, and the addition of a new 18,000 square foot strength training room.
At $106 Million, that is a cost of $990 per square foot.
The most similar project undertaken by another football program was LSU’s. Their project is the renovation of a 112,000 square foot facility, originally built in 2005, and the addition of an 18,000 square foot strength training room.
If fact, this project is nearly identical to the Lasch Building project.
The cost? $28 Million, $215 per square foot – less than 1/4th of the cost of the Lasch Project.
And, at that, the lavish project – and its cost – have caused much consternation in Baton Rouge:
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/sports/lsu/article_116f4336-acd2-11e9-9b43-43677be4c82c.html
Why does the Lasch project cost four times as much? No one knows – more importantly, no one even asks. In fact, there is no indication that those people responsible for the project (Penn State Administration and Trustees) are even aware of the tremendous differential between Lasch costs, and the costs for similar projects undertaken by collegiate athletics programs throughout the country..
Alabama – the bell-cow of collegiate football – their renovations cost $16 million.
https://www.insider.com/photos-alab...oduct-features-stunning-attention-to-detail-3
The projects at Clemson and Florida were not “renovations” – they were completely new “from-the-ground-up” projects…. which should cost significantly more than a renovation of an existing building.
The costs at Clemson? $55 Million for a 145,000 square foot facility. $417 per square foot for a NEW facility – less than 1/2 what PSU is spending on a RENOVATION.
http://news.gmcnetwork.com/news/2017/02/clemson-unveils-new-55-million-football-operations-complex/
Florida’s costs? $85 million for a 140,000 square foot facility. $607 per square foot for a NEW facility – Penn State is spending at a rate 60% HIGHER, for a RENOVATION.
https://www.gainesville.com/story/s...-foundation-new-football-facility/4297697001/
Something, obviously, smells like week-old fish with regard to the costs being incurred by Penn State. As we have seen time and again with Penn State sponsored capital projects, the costs are grotesquely out-of-line relative to every peer institution (and we have discussed the strong indications of graft, corruption, waste, and mismanagement wrt several other non-athletics capital projects).
Even IF the project was a reasonable target for expenditures (and, as we have seen above, that is a very specious assumption, at best) how much MORE effective could that spending be if it wasn’t so grotesquely over-priced relative to its peers?
How much more “competitive” could Penn State be if its costs were in line with its peers – and they could redirect the additional $50-80 million dollars to other purposes (staffing, etc)?
The entire project stinks to high heaven – from a “Mission” standpoint, from a cost standpoint, and, maybe most of all, from the standpoint of the inane defenses put forth by Penn State Administration and Trustees to try to justify the project.
It is, in many ways, Exhibit A with regard to the issues fouling the University as a whole.
Among the items on the agenda for the Penn State Board of Trustees meetings of 2/18/21 was the approval of expenditures for renovations to the Lasch Building. The Lasch Building is Penn State Athle…
barryfenchak4trustee.com
