thoughts on Moats hire

[BleedMaroon]

This was during the roan era so it could be completely incorrect now (he spoke about this idea on the record). Begley was going to be gutted, renovated and extended to turn into a really nice convention center which the state would put up the bond/budget for. There would be a hotel built in close proximity which private company would build and then eku would be on the hook for updates to the actual seating/stadium. There’s always strings attached to state funding for athletics and the convention center seems like the string with rks

I was shocked about the idea of the hotel but I guess if eku can offer a really nice hotel for much cheaper and it would help other colleges budgets, we could be more favorable compared to others

[DannyHopesGhost]

The 2020-2025 Master Plan for the campus lists the Begley renovation as a TBD. Many of the other items on the master plan have already happened or are in the works. Most likely any full scale Reno of Begley will be pushed to the next master plan, if one is currently in the works. That may have been Roans “vision”. I’ll say this, a private run hotel would be a grand slam but I’m not so sure about the idea of a convention center when we have the arts center currently. Begley and RKS were built with state funding because they categorized it as a class building. Selling the idea of a convention center to the legislature as the goal for gutting Begley would earn a hard pass from most of them. Mostly due to the dearth of campus parking, Lexington just down the road, etc. the plan is interesting reading and very Benson-esque in its vision. I don’t know why it was not more widely known about.

[BleedMaroon]

The hotel idea was one that peaked my interest. The location was the far end of the soccer field parking lot closest to RKS so like a 5 min walk. Would serve EKU athletics, center of the arts, police training center, and the hospital. I was able to go to the EKU Cinci game and the table I was standing at was talking about it.

I was able to stay in a Graduate hotel when I went to a conference a few years back and it was AWESOME. They specialize in college hotels next to campus. https://graduatehotels.com/

[colonelblitz]

Graduate Hotels…. Very interesting