Comments on: Stanford Coach Harbaugh Gets $70,000 Bathroom

By: jane

jane — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:34:42 +0000

The construction of this high price bathroom nauseates me; what makes this coach so special. There are people who wish they only had to walk 2 flights to use the facilities. There are a lot of ways this money could be put to better use; John Arrillaga look around!

By: GGG

GGG — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:51:50 +0000

$70,000 could purch. a lot of things. Perhaps cost overruns due to gov’t controls/bldg. codes/restrictions/firecodes/ADA codes, local codes, city codes, state codes, inspections, bids/permits, instant gratificaiton for a quick startup,,,etc.

AND tying into pipes 2 stories below….. remodeling has surprises!!! Let’s see some pix.

By: REH

REH — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:45:37 +0000

I agree with “R” above. Asking for the money to go to keeping another program running would be a much better story to be circulating about Stanford right now My vote: thumbs down to a new bathroom!

By: R

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:47:02 +0000

The coach could have deflected the entire controversey by taking the high ground, and telling the booster :

“Hey, I really appreciate the offer, but in today’s economy things are really tight and a lot of very deserving athletes in other sports are having their programs axed. What could I do to convince you to donate that money to keep our track program going for another year?

By: Bar None

Bar None — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:05:28 +0000

Yo Mooseman, doesn’t sound like you have seen the Stanford Athletics facilities??? My jaw hit the floor when I saw the aquatics facility, and somehow Stanford was able to tear the old football stadium and rebuild an entire new one in the off-season. I drive by it almost every day, and it’s wack nice……

$$$ to donuts that this crapper isn’t studded with gold fixtures and marble floors, but I’d bet on polished Connecticut Bluestone and brushed nickel fixtures at the minimum….. and it costs just as much in the Bay Area…

Anyway, the money’s not the problem, ’cause there’s lots of rich alumni everywhere - but the approach sucks air big time in this downturn…

Bill’s 100% right, why wouldn’t this be earmarked to save some athletics jobs in less mainstream sports?

By: mooseman

mooseman — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:53:01 +0000

the source of the money is completely material. If the booster paid %100 out of pocket its a non story. Not like the thing has gold fixtures and marble floors anyway, 70k is a nice bathroom but its not that crazy. The booster is a billionare, this is a drop in the bucket for him. Building fancy facilities for the kids is fine and nobody woulda said anything if this was a 70k additional bathroom for the players. But isnt getting/ keeping a good coach important? If and when Harbaugh leaves, stanford will still have a fancy bathroom and a nice perk for the recruitment of a new coach. (Is this even a perk? Pete Carrol and Urban Meyer prolly have Roman baths next to their offices)

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:25:34 +0000

Who the hell earmarks money for a sh*thouse? Turn down the money, “Sorry, Jack, can’t use your 70,000 dollar bathroom, maybe you’d like to help us out in these areas.”

By: Bar None

Bar None — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:55:40 +0000

Hmmm, sounds like MannyFanNot is reading a line right out the Stanford Development (fundraising) handbook…….

The Arrillaga family’s done a lot of good for Stanford, but this one does look kinda’ bad.

By: MannyFanNot

MannyFanNot — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:05:23 +0000

Sorry Brooks, the source of the money is very material. This money was clearly earmarked for a specific purpose by the donor. It’s not like the school made the decision to build the bathroom and not fund the fencing team. The donor made that decision. If they didn’t use the money for the purpose intended by the donor, the donation would not exist.

By: D.A.

D.A. — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:54:16 +0000

John Arrillaga (and family) has the family name on nearly every athletic and recreational facility on campus. Bottom line is that John Arrillaga is the one who calls all the shots within Stanford’s athletic department.