Regarding facilities, we need to focus on improving things where we can maximize our revenue.
That means football is priority #1 and CECC improvements is priority #2.
My short list:
1. Indoor football practice and training facility. I believe this should be a renovation or complete reconstruction of Balch Fieldhouse that somewhat repurposes it for this need while also making it one of the top indoor Track & Field facilities (a sport we can be very good in).
2. Enclose the South end zone and designate a good part of it as a 2nd student section. More club level and suites should also be added as part of this process. All in all, this should push Folsom capacity a bit over 60k, increase the noise and home field advantage when visitors are in the red zone on that side of the field, impress recruits, and boost revenue from home games.
3. Bring the CECC up to a new standard by improving concessions and merchandising, adding video boards, ribbon boards, light show and a new sound system, creating a small student section directly behind the other basket near where the players come out, and building a club level on that side with higher-end dining, alcohol service and premium priced tickets.
Once that stuff's done, I think we can start the conversation of a South Campus Sports Complex that includes Men's and Women's Tennis, Baseball and Softball, improvements for Cross Country and whatever else makes sense down there (lacrosse fields and locker rooms?).
I also think that we need to find a partner for skiing that can do for that program (prestige, exposure and revenue) what Colorado National Golf Club is doing for our men's and women's golf programs. Can't we find a ski resort that we can partner with in the same way or purchase outright? I'm not sure Eldora Mountain can be the answer, but there are other options. Regardless, CU should be dominant in skiing and I'm sick of losing to DU. Plus, an affiliated ski resort would be a great venue for hosting Buff fundraiser functions. This is the type of scenario that could endow skiing and make it a revenue producer for the AD in the same way golf is heading.
Finally, in the same vein as the skiing paragraph... we are in 1 of a handful of US states that loves hockey and has good youth leagues. CU needs to have hockey as a varsity sport. We need to make this happen. Rec center needs to be re-done so we can handle most practices on campus and the Broomfield Event Center can handle our home games for a while. I don't ever want to see the CECC become a hockey facility because it screws up sight lines and the logistics (practice times, locker rooms, game times, etc.) get unwieldy. Maybe make the Rec Center rink able to handle D1 hockey and the crowds or look at Broomfield as a permanent home. But CU should have hockey and we should be good at it. In non-revenue sports, the 2 things that CU should always be challenging for a national title in are winter and endurance sports.