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It's no secret that some folks in Syracuse University and in the city of Syracuse want to replace the Carrier Dome with a brand new arena. Others aren't so sure. Chancellor Kent "The Syverdude" Syverud seems to be of the mindset that whatever side you're on, we all need to come together and find a solution one way or another. Otherwise, it's going to cost everyone a lot of money.
So, he's set a two-year deadline for SU to find that solution.
Syracuse University has two years to decide whether to abandon or renovate its Carrier Dome, SU Chancellor Kent Syverud said today.
Syverud said that given the lead time for repairs and new construction, university officials need to decide in the next two years which of three options to act upon.
"Within the next 24 months we have to decide what we're going to do," he said. "Twenty-four months because the useful life of the current roof is at most five years, and a process of replacing it - getting the fabric, getting it installed, planning for all the disruption around that - is a couple year process."
Syverdude breaks it down as saying SU has three options.
1. Replace the roof.
2. Install an entirely new roofing system, perhaps retractable or metal.
3. Build an entirely new stadium and then deal with everything that comes with that.
I've said since almost the beginning of this whole saga, this ends with a renovated Carrier Dome. Because Syracuse passed on all that stadium money last year, it probably missed its window. Buffalo is going to be gunning for stadium money if/when the new owner of the Bills takes over, to say nothing of what NYC-type concerns pop up. Economically, it's just going to be easier and more practical to fix or replace the roof of the Dome and go from there.
We'll see how it plays out. We've got two years of watching ahead...
