CSU WAS ONLY “JUST EXPLORING” BID IDEA

Colorado State University officials say a “miscommunication” with the state’s top building official prompted them to make and then withdraw a request that contractors vying to build a new on-campus football stadium promise to donate cash to the project before being hired.

University officials say they were trying to maximize private donations to the $226.5 million stadium project, and say they thought they had been given the green light to make the request. CSU often asks contractors to provide scholarships or internships for students.

“We were just exploring and we didn’t go down that road,” Amy Parsons, CSU’s vice president for operations, saidWednesday. “We wanted to challenge the contractors to be creative.”

Stadium critics said CSU was creating a “pay to play” scenario in which only builders who agreed to donate would be considered for this contract and future taxpayerfunded work.

Parsons said people who are unfamiliar with the university’s purchasing processes might see the now-withdrawn language as unusual. “I think it’s my obligation to look at every way to save costs,” she said. “We don’t implement everything that we explore, and we didn’t do that here.”

After state architect Larry Friedberg raised concerns about the now-withdrawn language, including to state lawmakers, CSU withdrew the request Sept. 3.

University officials, who declined repeated interview requests on this topic last week, only agreed to an interview Wednesday, after the Coloradoan published a story on the issue.

CSU officials are set to begin interviewing prospective stadium contractors Thursday. A new request says the university will ask the contractors to donate materials, instead of cash, but only after they’ve been formally hired.