Students will be able to park in about 150 spaces near Hilton Coliseum for home football games because of an agreement reached Thursday. ISU administrators admitted they had originally “dropped the ball” in reassigning parking around Jack Trice Stadium without gathering student input.

The compromise plan, agreed upon tentatively by administrators and three ISU students in a meeting Thursday, will make parking lot B-3 in the Iowa State Center, just southwest of Hilton Coliseum, available to the general public. Previously, lot B-3’s 98 spaces were reserved for charter buses.

Students will also receive 50 free parking passes, located throughout the north end of the Iowa State Center lots, that would likely be distributed on a game-by-game basis by an organization like the Government of the Student Body (GSB).

“We didn’t clue the students in on the front end … They should have been involved in the conversations from the very beginning,” said Thomas Hill, vice president of student affairs. “But as soon as [the problem] was brought to light, we addressed it.”

The changes for stadium parking during the 2003 football season will move students and the general public from the lots on the east side of the stadium to grass parking lots on the other side of Elwood Drive.

Except for the newly allotted space in the Iowa State Center lot, none of those lots are paved. The lots near the stadium are now assigned to National Cyclone Club members and gameday operations.

Members of the National Cyclone Club, made up of donors to the athletic department, received the information in a mailing about three weeks ago.

Students found out about the change in the days following, in some cases from parents who were Cyclone Club members.

Hill said he was happy about the new parking plan, developed because of increased membership in the National Cyclone Club and concerns about security, because it was bringing to light an issue about which he has been trying to reach students for years.

“[O]ne of the things that has come out of this meeting is that dangerous behavior is taking place in those lots,” he said. “We finally got people’s attention about this behavior … I’ve been trying for six years to get people to pay attention to it.”

Students received four options

The athletic department created four options for student parking after a meeting July 7, and Thursday’s meeting resulted in the combination of two of those options.

The original presentation allowed students to consider:

* General public parking on the east side of Elwood Drive

* A distribution of 150 spaces in the Iowa State Center parking lot

* Tent space for alcohol-free student gatherings near Hilton Coliseum

* Provision of Lot B-3 for general public parking

ISU Athletics Director Bruce Van De Velde said students also had the option of joining the National Cyclone Club.

In 2002, general public parking cost $7 per game. Iowa State plays seven home games in 2003, so a member of the general public who attended all of the games and parked in a general parking area would pay $49.

Members of the National Cyclone Club receive a free season parking pass for their annual donation. The lowest contribution level is $50, to become a member at the Varsity level. Varsity members park in the northern two tiers of Iowa State Center parking.

Thomas Hill, vice president of student affairs, said the university would have to prohibit alcohol in an area reserved solely for students.

“When the institution is involved, I have a problem with alcohol [being involved],” he said.

Hill pointed out that about one-half of the student population is under the age of 21.

“I really think you can party and have a heck of a time without alcohol,” he said.

Because Lot B-3 will be reserved for the general public, there will be no restriction on alcohol.

Tony Borich, sophomore in community and regional planning, said he thought tailgates in Lot B-3 would probably overflow into adjacent Lot A-1, which is reserved for National Cyclone Club members.

Hill said any logistical problems could be solved during or after the season.

“A decision has got to be made,” he said. “But once a decision is made, that doesn’t mean that that’s the end of the dialogue.”