Could be better spent

I’ve read several articles in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette recently about huge amounts of money being donated to the University of Arkansas for sports-related fields and arenas. Quite some time ago an astonishing $160 million was approved by the Board of Trustees to increase seating and build suites at the Razorback Stadium. Several articles stated that the scanned tickets versus the sold tickets did not match for athletic events to the tune of about 50 percent noshows. I guess watching a 2-10 season does not do much to bring out the Hog faithful. This is a terrible waste of money when the student cost of one year at U of A can be more than $40,000. I believe one member of the board agreed with me and voted no to this huge outlay of money.

Last week, it was reported that a $5 million price was paid for naming rights to the baseball stadium, and a $25 million “operations center” was on the drawing board for athletics. Do we really need this kind of facility to manage sports?

Northwest Arkansas and the entire state are blessed to have very generous donors and companies who give millions to charities, and for that we are all grateful. Could we perhaps use more of the donated funds to give scholarships or to build classrooms and other academic facilities? A state university like the University of Arkansas does not have to be the farm club for up-and-coming athletes for the NFL or Major League Baseball. Signing reasonable contracts with coaches also would go a long way toward better feelings of the ticketholders. No more $11 million buyouts, please.

I have lived in Arkansas for 13 years and like the Razorbacks, but let’s use some common sense in how the U of A spends taxpayer and donated money.

Go Hogs! KEN BROWN Holiday Island