Raleigh Can't Afford Stadium for Shaw, St. Aug's

Raleigh cannot afford to build a proposed $30 million sports complex that would serve as home field for St. Augustine's College and Shaw University, the mayor said Tuesday.

Instead at Raleigh's City Council meeting, Charles Meeker suggested updating an existing high school facility, such as Southeast Raleigh High School, to accommodate the two schools.

Neither school has a facility to play home games and must play them at local high school stadiums. Proponents say the new facility would help with recruitment and boost attendance.

Meeker suggested naming a sponsor to defray the cost of upgrading an existing stadium. The Council decided to take the item off the agenda and consider it as a separate $8 to $10 million bond issue.

That was expected to be a topic at the City Council's public hearing scheduled for Tuesday night.

The decision on the complex was initially delayed because the proposed site along Rock Quarry Road near Interstate 440 is not large enough to accommodate the facility with parking.