A new Hornet stadium will be thrown into the mix, along with other amenities planned for the Recreation, Wellness and Events Center, campus spokesman Frank Whitlatch said.

Whitlatch said the stadium could cost about $32 million, bumping the recently estimated $90 million price tag for the project up to $120 million.

The plan to build a new stadium, however, is not final because the $120 million estimate to fund the RWEC is not yet in the university’s grasp, said Vice President of Facilities Management Ron Richardson.

“I would like it to be a new stadium,” Richardson said. “We don’t have all the donations, and until it reaches its goal, we can’t scope the project.”

But if all the pieces fall into place, it will be a reality for Sac State, Richardson said.

Whitlatch said the plan is to have a new stadium, and it has been talked about before. However, it might be necessary to salvage some pieces of the existing facility if funds aren’t sufficient.

Richardson said that not much from the current stadium “fires (his) rockets,” but said that some of the seating, which was recently replaced, can be used along with other parts, such as the scoreboard, if necessary.

At Gonzalez’s inauguration in October, he announced a $10 million gift donated by Alex Spanos.

He said that the money was “to launch the renovation of our stadium and to provide the lead gift for the construction of the (RWEC).”

But before the Hornets can look to have a new stadium for catching touchdowns and making interceptions, the RWEC is the number one priority because it’s what the students voted for and it’s what they want, Richardson said.

Students have already voted to pay $50 million through fee increases. So far, Gonzalez has raised $10,020,000.

These figures leave a nearly $60 million gap to be raised to fund the newest construction estimate of $120 million. The estimate has increased $15 milion because of the rising cost of steel and concrete worldwide and a plan to replace or renovate Hornet Stadium.

Regardless of the price increase, the amount contributed by students will not change, according to various committee members in charge of the project and Associate Vice President of Development Vince Sales.

That makes fund raising a top priority for the team in charge of raising the remaining funds, Sales said.

“I’m new,” Sales said. “I’ve only been here for a little over a month. My job is really to secure private funding for the university. And a big priority for me is to work on this project.”

Part of the fund-raising process will include alumni, Sales said. “You have to go through educating alumni that now we’re moving from totally public supported to public assisted; we need public dollars to reach that margin of excellence.”

Architects of Ellerbe Becket and members of TMCS project management met with personnel from the athletic department on Thursday, and with students and University Union officials on Friday, to discuss preliminary ideas for the RWEC.

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Gamaliel Ortiz can be reached at [email protected]