FORT COLLINS - To build, or not to build? That is the question.
Colorado State University Athletic Director Jack Graham wants to build a new football stadium on campus.
The proposal follows a lot of change at CSU in the last month, from a new athletic director to a new head football coach.
Recently, voices have emerged against the on-campus stadium, which Graham has said would raise the profile of both the football team and the university. He also says it would be funded from private dollars.
"My view is I'd like to have us kicking off in September of 2014," Graham said.
He acknowledges that timelines is "aggressive," but he says there is real momentum now to go forward with a new stadium.
"A new stadium is going to happen, this is not a maybe this is going to happen conversation," Graham said.
Bob Vangermeersch, who lives in Fort Collins, disagrees.
"It's moving too fast and without any input and without any planning," Vangermeersch said.
He has started a group of a handful of people who oppose the new stadium. He says Hughes stadium is a perfectly good location for Rams football.
"They've spent millions of dollars over the last couple of years renovating it, and now it's going to be abandoned - that makes absolutely no financial sense at all," Vangermeersch said.
One issue - if a new stadium were to be built - is the impact on traffic, which is already heavy around CSU.
"Major traffic issues if you look at the locations that they've talked about," Karen Weitkunat, mayor of Fort Collins, said. "The city is probably surprised, and astounded, and amazed - like the rest of the community, it's like a very fast moving forward target."
Still, it's a target that is getting CSU a lot of buzz.
"We've got a lot of enthusiasm and momentum going for a project of this kind," Graham said.
Even Vangermeersch can see why people are excited. But until we learn more about an expensive project - estimates are between $100 million and $200 million - he says the Rams football team is just fine playing at Hughes stadium.
"Are we going to get measurable results from this expenditure?" Vangermeersch said.
"Frankly, we don't think so."
An advisory committee, which includes people from the city and the university, will meet later this month to discuss on-campus stadium plans.
(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)