Kyle McCarty
[follow id= “KyleMMcCarty”]
A study exploring the possibility of building an event and hotel conference center on Cal Poly’s campus was released by university administrators on Wednesday.
The report considers local competition, potential market demand, and cost and revenue for the projects. The report was prepared by Brailsford & Dunlavey, a consulting company.
The event center would become the new host of Cal Poly’s men’s and women’s basketball programs, with the option of using it for concerts or other events as well. The report recommends 5,500 seats for basketball games. Mott Athletics Center currently holds about 3,000 spectators. The report gives a project cost of approximately 107.4 million, with the center being completed in July of 2020.
The hotel conference center would be primarily aimed at conference attendees and business travelers, many of whom are already brought to the area by the university. The center is estimated to cost 48 million for a June 2020 completion date.
In the university-wide email that announced the release of the report, University President Jeffrey Armstrong and Provost Kathleen Enz Finken wrote that the three building projects would have to enhance Cal Poly’s ‘Learn by Doing’ philosophy and be economically feasible.
In the email, Armstrong and Enz Finken said that “no decisions have been made” and that discussion with those at Cal Poly and the greater community would need to take place before construction.
In the email, the possibility of starting an interdisciplinary hospitality program that would use the new facilities was raised as well.
I think SLO could greatly benefit from a facility like this, the question is: How does this help our students? I personally think having a hotel on property assuming it would be somewhere in the core of campus whould be a detriment to the friendly and personable campus. Cal Poly needs dorms, classrooms, and professors much more than we need a bunch of conferences and the traffic and non-cal poly focused people running around the campus. I wish the administration would find running the University and improving it as interesting as building convention centers. There is so much needed to support the already exisiting students.
Right on!!
I guessing that the plan envisions that the hotel would primarily serve those visiting/doing business on campus, as opposed to the general travelling public. This is actually a pretty common model; many major universities have facilities like this to serve campus visitors. I once stayed at one in Montreal; the rates were low, the rooms spartan, but I had to prove some campus connection (my gf was faculty at a sister college) in order to book a room.
Again, and this benefits the students how? Where should it go, which buildings should it take over? What agriculture major should we do away with to fit this convention center in. Some classes have already doubled in size due to Armstrong’s rushing to make Cal Poly larger. 4 person apartments now how 6 kids. Rooms only big enough for a single twin bed now have bunk beds. Are there really that many people doing overnight business 365 days out of the year? Doubt it.
I hate to break this to you, Cathy, but everything is not just about students. Universities have to pay attention to visiting scholars, potential donors, consultants,etc. all who need housing. Motels in SLO are either expensive or crummy, or both.. btw I am not real conversant in SLO issues; I am a guy who is thinking of moving to SLO and trying to keep abreast of local affairs.
I can tell you aren’t real knowledgeable about SLO or the university. There are plenty of very nice reasonable hotels except during move in, move out (which includes graduation) parent’s weekend, and open house. Even for move in for the freshmen there are really nice hotels with availability in the slightly over $100 range, I just received an offer for greatly reduced rates at some prime properties. Visiting scholars, potential donors, consultants etc. either wouldn’t use hotels or have options available. Cal Poly is currently overenrolled, class sizes are rising, dorms are being converted to make spaces meant for 1 to have 2 in them, rooms meant for 2 have 3, etc. There is not space in the main area of campus to put such a center that I know of. They are tight lipped about the location, but the study envisions one on the campus. Are they going to tear down classrooms? There are already 2-3 new hotels opening in the next 3 years. If a site can be found that still allows for the development of more classroom space, stopping the current renovation making smaller classrooms larger, and it can be built with all private money, so be it. But until that time, I believe that at a University everything should be about students. I graduated from Berkeley, they have somehow managed to survive without a conference center and they are huge compared to Cal Poly, and their endowment (donations) is so much larger that CP, without the need to potential donors up in a campus hotel.
I was upfront about not being conversant about SLO issues, although I have probably spent 20-25 days there on vacation (as recently as two month’s ago). I guess $100 is a reasonable motel rate; I live in a city where you can get an equivalent room for $50. btw I am U.C. Berkeley, class of ’69.
Mustang News: Any way of finding out how much money was spent on this report?? Did it come from funds that could have been used for students??