Jamie Pollard sounded off Monday night towards critics of athletic department recommendations to the university, released on Friday, designed to limit the damage from COVID-19 and resulting budget shortfalls during Cyclone Radio Network’s Coaches Show on Monday.
The point that has drawn the largest amount of consternation, and been most widely debated on social media, is an indefinite closing of C.Y. Stephens’ Auditorium in the Iowa State Center.
“The revenues generated from community members attending performing arts at C.Y. Stephens’ are simply not enough to cover the costs of facility operations,” Pollard wrote on Friday. “The university has been subsidizing operations at Stephens’ Auditorium at nearly $1M annually. In addition, the facility has significant deferred maintenance issues which would require another $25M to $50M to bring the building up to today’s standards. As a result of the significant financial challenges facing the university and the athletics...
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