Can an owl beat an eagle?

AFTER HEARING a bit more community opposition than was scheduled Monday afternoon, the Temple University board of trustees voted unanimously to move forward with a controversial plan to build a $126 million, 35,000-seat stadium and retail complex on North Broad Street.

The approval, Temple president Neil Theobald explained, was just for $1 million in "preliminary approval" for design plans, which then would be brought to the community.

Not involving the community earlier proved to be a mistake. The trustees' meeting, open to the public, drew a standing-room-only crowd. That's what happens when you set up only 42 folding chairs.

Five members of the public were heard, but Theobald bowed to deep rumblings and let a few other community members speak before taking the vote.

Those in opposition, all nonwhite, accused the university of a lack of transparency, of excluding the community and of being bad neighbors.

The most eloquent was John Bowie, who tried to shame the mostly male, mostly white, board by recalling the vision of the school's founder, the Rev. Russell Conwell, of "acres of diamonds" in North Philadelphia.

"We don't have the resources to fight you" and you are "creating resentment in the hearts" of those who live around Temple, Bowie said.

There was talk of how gentrification in Temple's neighborhood - which is to say, North Philadelphia - has resulted in longtime residents being driven out by developers or forced out by higher taxes as property values rise.

That is not really the case with the football stadium. No house will be torn down. It probably won't increase the value of adjacent housing. Who wants to live across the street from a stadium, with the noise, traffic congestion, and lack of parking? (Those concerns will be addressed in the preliminary study, said Theobald.)

The decision was scheduled to have been announced at an earlier meeting, but the board pulled back when it learned of Mayor Kenney's opposition.

If you are looking for reasoned rhetoric, stay away from Kenney, a La Salle alum. In an emotional broadside, Kenney told NewsWorks, "How would you feel if you lived in a neighborhood where you had young students who decide to party at 2 a.m. in the morning, where they put trash out haphazardly?"

He thinks Temple students are as bad as Mummers, attacking the many for the misdeeds of a few. Perhaps Mayor Unhinged will explain what partying and trash complaints have to do with approving a football stadium.

The desire for a stadium didn't materialize out of thin air.

Temple is nearing the end of a long contract with the Eagles that charges the school more than $1 million per game played at the Linc. In a deal that would be condemned by Donald Trump, Temple gets squat from concessions and parking.

Temple is looking at a new 30-year deal that will cost the school $12 million up front and then $2 million a year, according to published reports.

"The Eagles have been good community partners," said Eagles president Don Smolenski, adding the team has worked with and honored its obligation to Temple - which is not in dispute.

The issue of the stadium "is completely independent of the university's relationship with the Philadelphia Eagles," says Smolenski.

Um, no. High rent is one of the drivers of the stadium idea.

In contrast, Heinz Field is shared by the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pitt Panthers, who pay rent based on a percentage of ticket sales, but get a cut of concession revenues.

If the Eagles - who play in a stadium partially funded by the taxpayers - were as generous with Temple, the stadium idea might go away, because there is undeniable luster in playing in an NFL stadium with all of the amenities.

Winning football burnishes the brand. I understand the need, since Temple no longer can use Bill Cosby endorsements. What I've discussed so far are the physical and financial issues, but I want to get to something else.

I played intramural football at Brooklyn College, which is a "city" school, like Temple. The school did not have a football team. There were other priorities.

I didn't study at Temple, but I did teach there and it is my emotional alma mater. I want the best for it.

Outside Sullivan Hall, while the trustees met, freshman Justin Andrews joined about 50 students chanting, "Up with the community! Down with the stadium!"

The stadium, he feared, would drive up property taxes and drive out poor people, would be a "wasteful" facility used a dozen times a year and, eventually, would result in higher tuition.

For me, the stadium rests on a vision of Temple as a major continuing football power.

Someone once said that neurotics build castles in the air, psychotics live in them. Temple can't afford to be psychotic.

Temple football has only six winning seasons since 1980.

Yes, the Owls went 10-4 this season, and it proved a great lift to the school and to the entire city. They were 6-6 the year before, and 2-10 the year before that.

I'd rather see the $126 million spent on staff, scholarships, and revitalizing the fabled Uptown Theater, an investment in the community suggested by Bowie.

That would make for a lasting championship season.

Email: stubyko@phillynews.com

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