Temple has been working toward building a new, on-campus football stadium for years now, but the process hit a roadblock earlier this month when a town hall meeting had to be shut down early due to protests from North Philadelphia residents. The debate has apparently become so heated that the group against the stadium has come up with its own name: the Stadium Stompers.
Nevertheless, Temple is moving forward with the stadium initiative. The school says it would cost $130 million, but it would give the university its own multi-purpose space as opposed to paying $1 million a year to rent the Eagles' Lincoln Financial Field across town. “Building and owning our own facility means substantial savings over leasing the Linc,” Temple president Richard Englert said at the town hall.
While the stadium project is undeniably a difficult prospect politically -- the plan involves permanently closing a city street -- it's also an aesthetically pleasing plan. The field would be built into the ground to reduce sightline issues and the on-campus location would allow for much of the 35,000 spectators to arrive via foot traffic or public transportation.
Temple has pushed forward with the effort despite the town hall setback, and on Thursday released its entire plan to the public, renderings included. The urban location gives the hypothetical stadium a Wrigley Field vibe.
This is the real-life North Philadelphia location where Temple wants to build its stadium.
And here's how it would look with the new stadium.
As someone with absolutely no skin in this game, I say let's get the excavators out and start digging. Geoff Collins agrees.