A source with knowledge of the on-going discussions between local government leaders and Texas A&M officials says those talks have been on the premise that games will remain at Kyle Field while the stadium undergoes major renovations.
The source notes multiple meetings have taken place since September, when News 3 first reported that College Station, Bryan and Brazos County were approached with the idea of contributing a total of $38 million to a renovation project totaling in the neighborhood of $425 million.
At no time in those meetings has anything but a three-year project at Kyle been discussed, the source says. Games would remain at the stadium for the duration, which would alleviate fears of local business leaders who estimated tens of millions of dollars in losses were games to move out of town for a season.
Friday, the A&M System Board of Regents will vote on an item that would move Phase 1 of the project into the current fiscal year, which runs until August 31, 2013. Previously, Fiscal Year 2014 (beginning September 1, 2013) had been discussed for the project's start.
However, all indications in meetings with local leaders have been that after the final home game of the 2013 season - a November 16 match-up with New Mexico - a major tear-down of the west stands of the stadium would get underway.
The west stands' renovation is part of the proposed Phase 1, which includes the demolition of the Read Building, G. Rollie White Coliseum and the Netum Steed facility, along with the creation of a pedestrian mall on the west side and upgraded utilities.
Sunday, A&M spokesperson Jason Cook said no final decision had been made on the future of Kyle Field, and there was no timeline for an announcement of a decision.
The third option that was on the table but seemingly never seriously considered was building a new stadium at a new location.
Moving games away from College Station for a single season would cost Brazos County an estimated $86 million, according to a study commissioned by the Bryan-College Station Convention and Visitors Bureau and the B/CS Chamber of Commerce. If games left for two seasons, the impact rises to $173 million, the study said.
