The Kyle Field poll presented by the A&M administration last Wednesday showed that 55 percent of responding students favor an increase in the University Advancement Fee and student sports passes to fund a $75 million portion of the planned $425 million renovations.
The survey asked students whether they did or did not support an increase in the UAF of $2.42 per semester credit hour and sports passes by $11.48 per game.
The UAF was established last spring as a streamlining of the then-13 mandatory student fees into a single fee.
In the separate SGA referendum, which allowed students the choice between sports pass and fee increases or drawing from existing UAF funds, 65 percent of students opposed the increases. Whereas the administration proposal involved covering 60 percent of renovations with the UAF, the option in the SGA referendum presented a 40 percent cover by the UAF.
University spokesman Jason Cook said neither survey was a vote for or against Kyle Field renovations and neither was binding. The issue, Cook said, is how to fund renovations, not whether they should be made.
There is a shared sentiment on campus that we need to do something about Kyle Field and a shared vision that we want it to be the best college football stadium in the country, Cook said.
University President R. Bowen Loftin will review results from both surveys, Cook said. Loftin said in an email Wednesday that A&M will certainly proceed with its renovation plans.