This time last year, it appeared as if the Carrier Dome would be made obsolete by a sleek, modern stadium to be built downtown that would serve both the city and Syracuse University athletics.

Now, city and university leaders say, talks of a stadium have virtually died out.

There were talks last January that the city of Syracuse, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, County Executive Joanie Mahoney and Syracuse University were working together to build a stadium downtown that would play host to some SU Athletics, including men’s basketball.

After the proposal hit a stalemate, talks have died down and the future of the Carrier Dome remains unclear. Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner formed a task force to look into the logistics of how a new stadium would operate, and SU Chancellor Kent Syverud formed a workgroup to explore the future of the Dome’s roof and the Dome itself. But, with the Dome is in its 35th year of operation, the building’s future is still in question.

Syracuse Common Councilors and SU Athletics personnel, as well as with those with direct knowledge of the situation, said there have not been any talks about a new stadium to their knowledge.

“I think there was an opportunity last year that the governor and the county executive presented and because the mayor said ‘No, I’m not interested,’ it went no further,” said Syracuse Common Councilor Kathleen Joy.

“Some of it’s politics,” said Common Councilor Bob Dougherty about talks dying down. “There was a pretty good stalemate among the governor, the mayor and the county executive and the university for that matter, and I think that some people saw that as some sort of a dead end.”

The new stadium, which reports said would hold around 44,000 people and cost nearly $500 million, was to be built in Kennedy Square, which is about a five minute drive from campus. Plans for the arena died after Mahoney could not persuade Miner to endorse the project.

The Dome, which opened in 1980, holds 49,262 people and cost $26.85 million to build, which is about $77 million in 2014 dollars. Operating costs for the 2015 fiscal year are estimated at about $9 million, said Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs at SU.

“As a city councilor and as a city resident, I’d like to see the stadium in the city, as close to the campus as possible. I don’t like the idea of off-campus stadiums,” Dougherty said. “College sports are supposed to be about the college and the students, and sometimes I think people forget that. It’s not supposed to be for the convenience of a fan.”

Following an announcement in her State of the City address last year, Miner announced the formation of a task force to look into the possibility of a new stadium.

Ben Walsh, chair of Miner’s stadium task force, declined to comment for this story.

“My personal opinion is that the mayor convened this task force after the decision was already made in order to cover her political behind,” said councilwoman Joy. “It was right about the time the State of the City was being prepared and she was getting quite a bit of criticism for pushing aside this opportunity rather than pursuing it and looking at the details.”

Common Councilor Pamela Hunter said the task force looked at what would need to happen for something like the proposed stadium to be built. She added that because there aren’t active talks, the task force is “done basically.”

Martin Skahen, the chief of staff for Joanie Mahoney, said in a statement that SU sports “are a valuable asset to our community and we should be doing all we can to maximize that value.” Skahen added that he is looking forward to the report by Miner’s workgroup.

Syverud did not appoint anyone from SU to Miner’s task force, but did form a workgroup of his own in the spring to look into the Dome’s roof and the building’s future.

“The chancellor wanted us to investigate really all we could about the nature of the roof and the nature of the Dome and be able to talk about if the roof somehow failed, what did that mean?” said Rick Burton, the David B. Falk Distinguished Professor of Sport Management and chair of the workgroup.

Burton said the workgroup found that the Carrier Dome roof would likely need to be replaced in the next six to eight years, which would cost about $25 million. The Dome’s roof has been replaced once before, in 1999, and cost about $14 million.

“My understanding is the chancellor had been advised by a board member that he ought to get smarter about the roof and better understand the Carrier Dome,” Burton said about why the workgroup was convened when it was.

He added that the workgroup has disbanded after the presentation of its findings.

Burton said there was a survey around campus asking students about the role of the Carrier Dome for them on campus.

“I think from the chancellor’s standpoint, it’s still at the stage where how does the Carrier Dome fit into the landscape of Syracuse University?” he said.

Quinn, the senior vice president for public affairs at SU, said in a statement that based on the report issued by the workgroup, “the chancellor has publicly indicated several times that given the limited life span of the existing Carrier Dome roof, the University has approximately two years to explore options for the Carrier Dome.”

Quinn said there are three potential alternatives when looking at the future of the Dome: replacing the current roof as is, installing a new roof structure while simultaneously making other improvements or building a different stadium off-site.

SU is assessing the three possibilities as part of the Campus Master Plan framework, Quinn said.

Dougherty said that if there is an agreement, a new stadium could be built within a year.

But for now, no proposal is on the table.

“The money was available. It was a one-time opportunity,” councilwoman Joy said. “The governor and the county executive had said, ‘This is what we would like to do, around this location and if you want to do it, we’ve got to do it now’ because the money was available. The money’s not available anymore, so there is no project. Period.”

Published on January 28, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306