http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2017/jul/05/letter-editor-stadium-not-worth-it/?opinionLetter to the editor: Stadium not worth itI must confess that I was deeply confused by the Journal-World’s recent editorial “Much needed football upgrade,” which seems to claim that a $300 million football stadium upgrade would be a sound financial investment. The editorial brushed over the fundamental problem with Kansas football: it sucks, and aside from one surprise season nine years ago, has sucked for my entire life.
The editorial compared KU to Iowa State, which sells twice as many home tickets as KU. But it neglected to mention that Iowa State, while also a terrible football program, has almost twice as many wins over the past five years as KU, and nonetheless only brought in $9.4 million in ticket sales in 2015. Even if half of those sales were due to the stadium, which is doubtful, it would be worth only $4.7 million a year, a measly 1.5 percent annual return. That won’t even cover interest.
A stadium upgrade won’t turn Kansas into Iowa State, and it wouldn’t be worth it if it did. If finances were the driving consideration, KU would cut its football program altogether rather than keep throwing good money after bad.
