Federal aid likely for US college stadia

Article posted by Coliseum, September 11^th, 2023

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A new congressional caucus is looking to protect 18 historic college football stadiums around the United States and the Memorial Stadium at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is included in this list.

‘newschannel20.com’ stated that Congressman Darin LaHood said he gives his colleagues a lot of credit for creating this bipartisan caucus.

The 60,670-capacity Memorial Stadium is a stadium on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois, United States.

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‘newschannel20.com’ further stated that the group is looking to provide Federal aid to college football stadiums across the country, such as the Rose Bowl and Illinois’ Memorial Stadium. They look to provide help with technology and infrastructure projects for these stadiums. But with these schools already receiving millions of dollars from television deals – along with other funding avenues – there are questions on whether it’s the best use of Federal money.

The 89,702-capacity Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium located in Pasadena, California. Opened in October 1922, the stadium is recognized as a National Historic Landmark and a California Historic Civil Engineering landmark.

LaHood said about supporting legislation from the caucus, “I would consider the legislation. Obviously, the cost component that goes into that is going to be important, and the use of Federal dollars. Like I said before, I think looking for mechanisms and ways through the tax system to help and assist universities also should be an option.”

LaHood said providing tax credits could be a good route for these stadiums instead of providing grants. LaHood hopes that the caucus will be able to promote college football programs and the campuses they reside on.

LaHood also said he doesn’t expect legislation to come out soon as the caucus looks to add more members and support.

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