NEZ/Vanier is donor funded, was probably never going to happen without the vast majority being donor funded.
If ku raised all the money privately this would be a rubber stamp, where the Legislature is balking is at the issuance of debt to build a dorm for a select few, mainly athletes.
Plus the argument that ku basketball makes a lot of money is immaterial, because I doubt ku athletics inc. is going to be the one incurring the debt. I doubt ku athletics can have their name on it any way in terms of who owns, runs and finances the place, per NCAA rules.
Once again, this is where your typical squawk doesn't have a clue.
This is very Max Urick of Cheyenne Zulu.
Here's a post by our very own resident 180 IQ OregonSmock at phoggie.net
Pepperjax34 wrote: KU should just finance this privately. Our basketball program makes at least that much money on an annual basis.
Thus rendering the second bolded statement in your post an absolute certainty.
Well Bookie, love ya bro, but Beems is right on ku financing the thing privately.
Where they are mislead is thinking that what ku basketball makes income wise is going to somehow sway some legislative thinking. It's not ku basketball or ku athletics that's going to be on the hook for the debt (in all probability), yet it's clearly ku basketball that's deriving all the benefit from the dorm being built. Sure, ku may have plenty of unrestricted funds on reserve to secure the bond debt, but for some legislators it's the principal of the school itself taking on more debt to build a dorm for the basketball team.
What it sounds to me like is Zulu and Self have a little penis envy going with Kentucky's Coal Wildcat Lodge basketball dorm (100% privately funded) so they're trying to get one built at ku ASAP.
I suspect, though I can't be certain, that the reason why ku's apartments are going to be twice as large as say Kentucky's in terms of rooms, is so they can pile more fee paying "regulars" in there, to off set expense for the athletic department on the room rental and fees and to help pay the debt. When you issue bonds through KDFA, just like any where else, you gotta write up how you're going to pay off the debt, and give that report to legislators and ratings agencies. Welp, I suspect that some legislators would get heartburn over this, no matter how butthurt ku T-shirt nation gets. Again only speculation on my part, but there's a good chance that ku housing services will be on the hook for the bond debt. Individual entities within Kansas public universities like athletics, housing services, parking services, student union corps etc. etc. can sell bonds to finance their undertakings with the university/state as the guarantor.