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Good Steps In Stadium Standoff

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 16, 2008

Compromise is never easy. Finding common ground with competing interests generally means letting go of something you value.

And so it was Friday when competing stakeholders met to resolve the standoff over who should be able to use Raymond James Stadium on the first weekend in December.

During the meeting, USF, which plays its home games at the stadium, agreed to forego the idea of building an on-campus stadium, a threat made by USF President Judy Genshaft as the clash was heating up.

Instead, the university will sign a long-term lease at Raymond James, though the exact number of years remains unclear. Currently, the university can break its stadium lease with two years' notice.

To keep the stadium in the black, the Tampa Sports Commission and the Tampa Sports Authority have pursued other events. To its credit, the commission and local tourism officials landed the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game for this year and next - with a shot at landing the game permanently.

But competing values collided last month when the Big East Conference asked to schedule a USF-Rutgers game at Raymond James on the Thursday before the Saturday game. The ACC, which last August signed a contract reserving the stadium from Tuesday through Saturday, refused.

The refusal sent Genshaft into overdrive, calling everyone she could to change the course of events. That's when she said the university would pursue building an on-campus stadium, a priority this community would never tolerate, especially in a time of enrollment cutbacks.

On Friday, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio brought all sides together to try to settle the standoff. The meeting ended with the sports commission and tourism officials - who are to be commended for landing the ACC tournament - agreeing to forego a long-term partnership with the ACC.

Since the ACC has a signed contract for the next two years, however, USF will have to forego using the stadium during that time. The compromise must still be approved by the Tampa Sports Authority.

During the meeting, Iorio said everyone seemed to agree that if USF signs a long-term contract, the hometown university and its exciting young football team deserve a commitment to the dates it needs.

The sports folks said later, however, that it's not certain USF will need the stadium every year in December, since its eight-team conference schedules only two games that week. They'd still like a way to pursue a relationship with the ACC, maybe on an every-other-year basis. It's an idea worthy of consideration.

They also fear that knowing it's not wanted, the ACC may try to pull out of its two-year commitment. There's concern the event could have trouble selling local sponsorships and advertisements, since everyone knows the game will have a short tenure in Tampa.

The debate is not settled, though resolution is in sight. It's unfortunate the debate became so contentious. Closer attention to details by Genshaft - as well as better communication with the community - might have prevented the hard feelings that exist.

But the Bulls are a big-time team and USF deserves the status of a major tenant.

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