Random Jerry Kutz info...

Re: Oklahoma / Arms Race

Jerry Kutz
6/29/2014

"If you want to compete for championships, you have to pay your coaches and build facilities, simple as that. Just think about what all we have done already with the $15 million IPF last year, a cutting-edge dormitory/apartment complex for football opening in August, the renovations to the locker room, players lounge, coaches offices, and what we plan to do for Doak. Not to mention the millions of additional dollars we are spending on assistant coaches salaries and additional personnel to provide services to our student athletes so they are prepared to compete for championships.

What we are looking at for Doak will be determined by what our individual fans are willing to give. We have a multi-phase plan that we will execute as rapidly as we can raise the money. We think we can make some very significant changes for about $200,000 that can be phased in beginning with the club seat project. We will announce the Champions Campaign on August 1 and begin the process of showing people the projects, asking for contributions, and pre-selling club seats.  We are not tapped out on bonding capacity. We have enough to do the first phase (the club seat section) and if it sells as projected, it will fund itself, and the revenue generated by it will increase our bonding capability to do more.

Every donation to the Champions Campaign increases our ability to build more. Every new Seminole Booster member and upgraded membership increases our ability further more.

We won't build waterfalls but we will build facilities our fans want to come to and helps the coaches attract top prospects.

You have to raise the money to spend the money to keep the coaches you want and build the facilities the prospects and fans are attracted to."


Re: Good News - No Chief Walmart on new booster plates / materials!

Jerry Kutz
6/29/2014

"Thanks for the advise. I welcome venting and that's why I give my cell phone and email address. Its a good way to get to know people, to share information, and to listen to another's perspective. I can get more out of a personal conversation than I can just by exchanging on a message board with an anonymous poster.

You'll be glad to know that I haven't been able to spend much time on the boards recently as we have been very busy the past six months with ticket sales, Booster memberships and Booster Life events. We have broken records in attendance and will break records for ticket sales, Booster memberships and revenue. The ticket sales for Dallas and for our events out there are also outstanding. Our fans have really responded to the upcoming schedule and to the championship.

We also have more projects underway then I can ever recall. The dorm/apartment complex will open on time on August 1 just like the IPF did last year. The locker room and coaches's office renovations are in process. The Tucker Center will have new seats, video boards and graphics packages as well as a lot of planning for more improvements.

My time has been spent on planning the Champions Campaign to fund these projects which will launch August 1. The Champions Campaign will play an important part of the university's capital campaign to launch in October. In addition to all these projects, we're taking a deep dive with architects and engineers on ways to into improve Doak and will entertain bid proposals in late July, selecting the design/build team the first week of August. We advised the Board of Trustees this past week of our plans, including a pre-sale of the club seat section starting August 1, and received encouraging remarks. So its full steam ahead over the next 12 months to sell the project. Assuming we are successful, we'll seek official BOT and BOG approval next year and break ground right after the 2015 season.

We also received approval for College Town Phase 2 so there is a lot of projects going on all at once.

So we are now just 30 days away from the launch of what will be the largest campaign for FSU athletics yet, a campaign that will have a getting on place for every Seminole fan who wants to participate even at the annual membership level. And we're less than 30 days from the start of fall practice and preseason Booster Life events.

Exciting times."