Peterson: Iowa State’s CYTown district should be about student opportunities, as well

AMES — I got a satisfying response after Iowa State president Wendy Wintersteen was asked a question about the CYTown entertainment district plan that’s going before Iowa’s Board of Regents in a few months.

How does the vision for an Iowa State-owned space that athletics director Jamie Pollard compares to the Green Bay Packers’ Titletown, and downtown Kansas City’s Power and Light District, mesh with the University’s mission?

In what ways will becoming the first college with such an elaborate entertainment area on university property adjacent to a football stadium and basketball arena benefit non-athlete students?

I wanted to be convinced.

“While I don't believe it will help lower tuition, I am confident that it gives our students another set of opportunities, venues for them to show their own creativity and innovation,” Wintersteen said during a Monday press conference.

I’m cautiously optimistic about the $200 million project, because, quite frankly, it sounds cool for a space that’s essentially only used during home football Saturdays and men’s and women’s basketball games.

First, however, I needed the assurance that CYTown would be advantageous to students throughout campus. I wanted to make sure the proposed district would provide opportunities for students to intern, to be employed and to enjoy attending events at C.Y. Stephens Auditorium, the Scheman Center and Fisher Theater.

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CYTown should provide opportunities to non-student-athletes

When Wintersteen, Pollard and Rick Sanders, ISU research park's executive director, said that some profits from a completed CYTown would go to students and the arts — that’s along the lines of what I needed to hear.

While Wintersteen point-blank said a profitable CYTown would not, I repeat, not lower tuition, what the concept can do is benefit students in other ways — like on-the-job opportunities while working toward their degrees.

Envision this: The hotel/convention center that’s being planned, employing students from Iowa State’s popular Hospitality Management program.

Or this: Students in Engineering helping with something within their expertise — like helping design some of the structures that will replace what now is “Tent Row.”

How about this: Students majoring in something regarding the healthcare field, working at an anticipated medical facility that'll be located within the rows of businesses between Hilton Coliseum and Jack Trice Stadium.

Or even this: A student-run NIL store, where student-athletes can hawk their stuff, especially to patrons checking it out before football, and basketball home games.

And here’s another: Engage students from Iowa State’s nationally-relevant design school.

If tuition can’t be lowered, then somehow giving back to students across campus is imperative, and from what I heard at Monday’s press conference — and from talking to others outside the press conference — that sounds very doable.

“As we went forward with this project, we were really focused clearly on how we found a way to support the Iowa State Center,” Wintersteen said, referring to Stephens, Scheman, and Fisher. “That's about the arts and the cultural events that we want to continue to have available for our students, and for the community. This is the path where we can really make a difference for the arts community.”

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CYTown fits Iowa State's mission

Since CYTown will be on 40-some acres of university land, how does it intersect with the mission of land-grant universities like Iowa State?

Let’s go to the school’s own website — to the part that includes the land-grant mission:

• Colleges should be open to everyone, regardless of pocketbook or gender.

• Besides classical education, professors should teach practical subjects like agriculture, science, and engineering.

• Knowledge should be shared far beyond the borders of campus.

You don’t have to be too creative to see how CYTown can fit these criteria. It'll be open to everyone. Broad-based teaching includes learning experiences outside classrooms, possibly in places like what CYTown could offer. Sharing knowledge far beyond the borders of campus? International students comprise 8.2 % of Iowa State’s full-time fall enrollment.

So yes, there’s more to the CYTown vision than living, drinking and eating in one area. There’s another side that, if everything falls neatly into place, could provide a one-stop experience that fits every student’s needs.

Wintersteen even said Iowa State’s student government president “was just thrilled to see this presentation.”

“Opportunities for students who will have internships with businesses that may be located (in CYTown), with retail outlets with other venues -- he thinks that's going to be tremendous,” Wintersteen said. “And really, the Iowa State Center is part of the Iowa State campus. Students walk there all the time. I think that's the response we're going to see from the student body as a whole.”

That’s what I needed to hear.

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Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson embarked on his 50th year of writing sports for the Des Moines Register in December 2021. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, 515-284-8132, and on Twitter at @RandyPete.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State's CYTown district must include opportunities for students