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Funding
for new stadium passes halfway mark In its sixth month of fund raising for the new TCU baseball facility, the athletics department has surpassed the halfway mark and is pushing to break ground by summer. Associate athletic director Davis Babb said funding as of April 1 totals about $4 million, equaling about 58 percent of the $7 million needed to pay for the new stadium. Since Feb. 2, benefactors have contributed an additional $1.45 million, putting the athletics department on pace to earn the 70 percent needed to begin construction by June 1. TCU alumnus and chairman of the Baseball Stadium Steering Committee Roger Williams said he is pleased with how fund raising has gone so far. “When you think about how fast this fund raising has gone, the support has been just phenomenal,” Williams said. “It’s a project that everybody’s interested in.” Williams, who played and coached baseball at TCU, said the money for the stadium has come together very quickly and that support will continue to increase. “We’re going downhill at 110 miles an hour,” Williams said. “People are calling all the time, and once we put a hole in the ground, more people are going to jump on board.” Of the seven-stage fund-raising campaign involving varied pledge amounts and naming rights to several stadium components, Babb said that recent contributions have not been limited to a specific area. “It’s tough to pinpoint one area where most of (the funds) have come from,” Babb said. “But I can tell you that pledges have been made in everything from naming suites to buying plaques on the backs of seats.” A main stage of the campaign is the $3.5 million cost of the rights to name the facility. Babb said the steering committee and the athletics department have approached numerous local corporations about the opportunity but would not disclose the identities of the companies. “We’d rather those folks have an opportunity to consider (contributing) without it becoming a media thing,” Babb said. The athletics department has also approached the Mabee foundation, named for TCU alumni J.E. and L.E. Mabee, for a grant. Babb
said officials for the foundation are scheduled to respond within
the upcoming weeks. Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Bronson Davis said ticket sales are expected to raise about $60,000. Babb said substantial contributions will be made in the upcoming weeks, and the athletics department hopes to have $4.9 million by the end of April.
John Weyand |