Marshall's baseball stadium

Stephen Kopp, president of Marshall University, visited The Herald-Dispatch editorial board today to talk about various things. One of them that took about five minutes of a 90-minute interview was the status of the new baseball stadium.

What baseball stadium? From the way Kopp talked, it will be a while.

Kopp said Marshall people have looked around Huntington for what would be needed to build a good baseball field with a stadium. For starters, they need 10 acres. They did not find a 10-acre site in a suitable location near the campus. For comparison, 10 acres is 2.5 to 3 times the size of the new softball field.

And Marshall would need $12 million to $15 million to build a new stadium, including land acquisition. For comparison, the new Engineering Lab Building going up along 3rd Avenue is a $5 million project.

Right now, about $100 million worth of construction is under way on the Marshall campus. All of it is either public-private investment or private investment, Kopp said. That tells me there is nothing being built that is 100 percent funded by the state.

Kopp didn't say it, but if someone would donate 10 acres near campus and come up with a few million to build a good stadium . . .

During the discussion, I was going to ask one question but forgot to: How many people would pay to see a Marshall baseball game on or near campus? Seriously. I would like to know how this investment could be justified.