04.10.17

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DAILYWILDCAT.COM Monday, April 10, 2017 – Tuesday, April 11, 2017 VOLUME 110 ISSUE 79

ARTS & LIFE | PAGE 9 FILE PHOTO

A VIEW OF THE Arizona Stadium on May 22, 2016.

RESIST! ART SHOW SHOWCASES LOCAL ARTISTS, RAISES MONEY FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN

SPORTS | PAGE 12 WILDCATS BLAST 15 HOME RUNS IN ROUT OF STANFORD CARDINAL, EXTEND WINNING STREAK TO 25 GAMES

Athletics fee for new students to go to renovations, game access BY MARISSA HEFFERNAN @_mheffernan

Incoming students enrolling for the fall 2017 semester will find a new $100 athletics fee on their bursar’s account. The Arizona Board of Regents approved the athletics fee in a 7-1 vote at their April 6 meeting. The fee is $100 for undergraduates and $50 for graduate students. Graduate students will be able to opt out. Undergraduate students will not have that option. Erika Barnes, Interim Athletics Director, said the fee is an overall fee to support athletics programs, facilities and the improvement of the student and fan experience,

not a fee for just one project. The estimated yearly revenue, once the fee is fully integrated, is $75 million. “We’ve been pretty fiscally responsible,” Barnes said. “We’ve had a positive fund balance for over 31 years. In the meantime, we’ve also done some critical capital projects that we’ve really relied on private support for.” Earlier this year, Arizona Athletics received a $1 million donation from former Wildcat baseball star and Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona for a new indoor hitting facility for the baseball program. The athletics program is also developing a student-athlete academic center south of McKale Center with a $7.5 million price

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tag, courtesy of the Wildcat Club, a group of donors for athletics. This is the first time athletics has been supported by the general student body and not just those who purchase passes or tickets. “Having a new revenue stream will help us in the future in our visions of what we want for our programs, our facilities and to benefit our students and our fans,” Barnes said. One benefit for fans is a plan to improve the Wi-Fi in McKale Center, Arizona Stadium and eventually all athletic venues. Students will still have to pay $175 for a red ZonaZoo pass for access to men’s basketball and football games and $135 for a blue ZonaZoo pass for access to

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football games. Barnes said the reasoning behind keeping the passes was due to the valuable social aspect and school spirit the student section provides. According to Barnes, the amount of money transferred from the athletics department back to ZonaZoo will increase from $85,000 to $125,000 as a result of the fee, giving students a greater role in deciding the use of those funds. “We didn’t want to make that decision for them; they get to use their creative juices,” Barnes said. Michael Finnegan, Associated Students for the University of Arizona president, said the original proposed fee was much higher.

ATHLETICS FEE, 3

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