ISU president says university is committed to Stephens Auditorium's future

Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen said Wednesday in a statement that the school is "committed to working together" with its athletics department to develop a plan for keeping Stephens Auditorium open.

Separately, Ames resident Steve Peters, CEO of Venuworks, the company that manages the auditorium under a contract, said he had talked to Wintersteen twice Wednesday and that she told him the auditorium will remain open.

Wintersteen's statement came amid an uproar that erupted after Athletics Director Jamie Pollard said in a letter that he would recommend the indefinite closure of the 51-year-old ISU landmark. He said that and other cost-saving measures were needed after a recent decision to hold the Cyclones' home football games this season without fans — a major blow to the department's revenue. 

Pollard declined to comment on Wintersteen's statement Wednesday, But he voiced frustrations to Chris Williams, publisher of Cyclone Fanatic, in a podcast published Thursday.

"We're going to figure out how to not touch the arts — OK — but I didn't have anybody say we're not going to touch the sports or we're not going to touch our coaches' salaries," Pollard told Williams. "That's an overview of what happened."

The athletic department assumed responsibility for Stephens, a popular music and theater venue, last year as part of a plan for redevelopment of the area near ISU's Jack Trice Stadium. The proposed dining and entertainment complex is expected to produce revenue that, among other things, would plug a funding gap for Stephens and allow for a much-needed renovation. But the plan has been put on hold amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"The building has not had a dime put into it in years; it's an embarrassment now," Pollard said to Williams during the Cyclone Fanatic podcast published Thursday. 

"These people that say, 'Oh, it's a landmark of the century.' Yeah, it's a landmark of the century .. 100 years ago. I challenge any of those people – have they even been in the building in the last couple of years?"

In a tweet Sunday, Pollard acknowledged that his recommendation had upset many in Ames and suggested that, if the auditorium were valuable to community, the city should pick up the $1 million cost of keeping it open.

"I didn't respond back and say – when these people write me – I don't write them back and say, 'Well, you don't like our wrestling program,' or 'You don't like our swimming program,'" Pollard told Williams. "I'm not accusing them of that .. but they accuse us of not liking the arts program."

Pollard told Williams that "it's fascinating (how) these people can be so overly self-righteous about their beliefs versus everybody else's beliefs."

Wintersteen said in her statement that Iowa State is committed to the auditorium's future.

"The university and athletic department must continue to look for ways to reduce expenses, especially in the short run," Wintersteen said. "However, both the university and the athletics department are committed to working together to develop a plan for how Stephens will operate into the future for the benefit of campus and the Ames community."

Peters, the Venuworks CEO, said he was "pleased" by the decision to keep Stephens open.

"We’re going to be beginning some conversations here in the next week about how we can move forward on how we can find a workable business plan that gets us through this current crunch,” he said.

The pandemic has hurt venues, like Stephens, that rely on ticket sales. Though the auditorium continued to host outdoor concerts and has plans for future concerts, most of its operations have ceased.

Des Moines Register staff writer Tyler Jett and Ames Tribune staff writer Kiley Wellendorf contributed to this article.