Campus framework plan gets $5 million donation from Syracuse trustee

The main takeaway from this week’s campus framework update was that there was nothing new to report about the Carrier Dome renovation for the Syracuse Orange.

But one of the bigger pieces of information we honed in on was the renamed fitness and wellness center -- the Barnes Center at the Arch. We didn’t read too much into the name, but it ends up there’s a very good reason for it.

Syracuse University trustee Steven Barnes (class of ‘82) and his wife Deborah provided a $5 million donation to jump start the project. In case you were wondering how much it costs to get your name on a building at SU... it appears that $5 million’s the figure to beat.

(so much for the Cassillo #DisloyalIdiot Pavilion)

Obviously it’s an incredibly generous gift, and does a lot toward helping get this campus framework project. But there’s still plenty more to go for this part of the project and the many elements that are going to bring this 20-year plan to life.

The Carrier Dome’s renovation will be the biggest of them, in all likelihood. And that’s not lost on everyone involved -- including taxpayers who may or may not be asked to foot part of the bill here.

While Syracuse University is a private entity, obviously, the school (and the Dome) does play host to numerous events that benefit the residents of Central New York, as well as the greater state of New York (SUNY-ESF also utilizes the facility and campus). The state paid for part of the Dome’s original construction too, further complicating the matter this time around.

Without (and I stress WITHOUT) getting into politics, what do you think about the cost of the Dome? Should the University and private donors pay for the entire renovation? Or should some of that come from state funds? I honestly don’t have a side, so I’m curious what both alums and locals (and local alums) alike think here.