A New Concept For College Town Stadium Districts

A new company promises to help universities pay for new sports facilities that include residential, retail and other commercial ventures.

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"Virtually all universities have budget problems and administrators understand the need to attract more revenue, said Greenberg. By working with College Town, universities can build new sports facilities that may include residential, retail and other commercial ventures, he said. College Town requires universities to partner in the development projects by giving up land for the projects. In return, the universities share in cash flow, equity and appreciated value of the real estate venture."

Kicking off U-rah development

Greenberg launches College Town concept for stadium districts

Pete Millard

Milwaukee real estate and sports attorney Martin Greenberg has formed a company that promises to help universities pay for new sports facilities and possibly generate cash to cover academic and other operating expenses.

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Greenberg’s College Town concept is based on forming public/private partnerships with universities for commercial or residential developments on campus, usually within or around a sports venue.

Greenberg is the chief executive officer of College Town, which is based in Milwaukee at 3127 W. Wisconsin Ave.

The cornerstone of the College Town business plan is to convince universities they can’t afford to build football stadiums that will be used just 10 times a year or basketball arenas that are used 30 times a year.

"If schools maximize the use of facilities and space, they can make money," Greenberg said.

College Town, in conjunction with Scheer-Game Sports Development L.L.C , is already working with St. Louis University on a new basketball arena and the University of Akron on a football stadium. The company also has fielded queries on new facilities from the University of Arizona, University of Miami, University of Louisville, University of Alabama and Iowa State University.

College Town was formed this month as a subsidiary of ScheerGame, located in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. Greenberg has worked with ScheerGame in the past on financing sports and entertainment facilities.

Greenberg has convinced two other national firms to join College Town in selling the concept to universities and colleges. HOK Sports, Kansas City, Mo., and Joseph Freed & Associates, Wheeling, Ill., have formed a strategic alliance to work with College Town.

Virtually all universities have budget problems and administrators understand the need to attract more revenue, said Greenberg. By working with College Town, universities can build new sports facilities that may include residential, retail and other commercial ventures, he said.

College Town requires universities to partner in the development projects by giving up land for the projects. In return, the universities share in cash flow, equity and appreciated value of the real estate venture.

"It is all about revenue in this age of building new sports venues," said Greenberg.

The addition of a College Town sports venue-area development creates an everyday destination for students, faculty and fans to spend money and benefit a university and its athletic programs, said Greenberg.

Numerous combinations of uses for space are possible within a College Town development. They might include retail and residential space, university classroom space, a medical complex, a convocation center or a university hotel.

Greenberg’s interest in combining real estate development with sports financing is an extension of his past legal experience. He’s the managing partner of the Milwaukee law firm Greenberg & Hoeschen, which specializes in real estate issues.

He also is the chairman of the Wisconsin State Fair Park board and is an adjunct professor of law at Marquette University Law School, where he founded the Marquette National Sports Law Institute.

College Town hired William Carr III to be its senior vice president of business development. Carr has served as the athletic director of the University of Florida and the University of Houston. While at Houston, Carr helped create and expand Conference USA.

"Our goal is to use our knowledge of the collegiate market to identify and assist schools by creating a partnership that advances their institutional and athletic programs," said Carr.

The company has held discussions with national retailers about locating in or around new sports facilities. The type of retailers most interested in the College Town concept includes Starbucks, Kinko’s, Urban Outfitters, Barnes & Noble, Banana Republic and Blockbuster Video.

"College Town is an entrepreneurial response to a set of problems," said Steven Stern, chief executive officer of ScheerGame.

UWM space restrictions

The concept is a novel way for universities to finance sports facilities, said Chuck Lang, associate athletic director at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"The concept may not work here because we have a limited amount of land around the Klotsche Center," said Lang.

UWM is breaking ground next month on a $40 million expansion of the Klotsche Center, the home of the UWM men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as volleyball, track and swimming.

Nevertheless, universities in urban neighborhoods are strong candidates for the College Town concept, said John Shreve, a spokesman for HOK Sports.

College Town executives point to the past to show that sports venues can be multipurpose facilities. Space inside Louisiana State University’s Tiger Stadium and the University of Florida’s Florida Field was once used as student dormitories. Currently, Florida Field has athletic training facilities beneath the stadium.

Florida State University may have the most creative use of its football stadium. The south end of FSU’s Doak Campbell Stadium houses the entire School of Hospitality, including administrative offices and classrooms.

© 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.

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