If it closes for racing? Might make a good fairly long term site.

It wouldn't be cheap. At all.

That said, it's an ambitious goal and buying something permanent would be a tremendous accomplishment and would greatly simplify a lot of issues that persist from year to year.

ASB should buy about 5 acres somewhere, to use every year. HRH just has too much structure to go along with it, which would make it more expensive.
Something to work towards when we have a good($) year.

I agree that we need some stability like that... but I got to thinking this morning - what if we buy some property and we get shut down because the neighbors don't want a Bonfire in their backyard?

We just sell it and move on?

The good thing is that it'd be an asset - a valuable one. The bad thing is that we could be tied to something that we couldn't really use.

I guess that's just me being devil's advocate and being touchy because of the recent events.

Those neighbors just got through shutting down the racetrack. They have shown they don't like living next to something like that. Buying a piece of property sounds like a good idea, but I don't think I would buy that particular piece.

Remember, A&M move Bonfire to the Polo Fields in the early 1990's because of complaints from the Southgate neighborhood. Neighborhood relations are going to be critical wherever any Bonfires are held.

A thought. A place that was visible from a major road would be wonderful. I can only imagine what it was like around town when everyone going down the street could see it being built. I think that is missing, right now most people only see it on burn night.

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I think that is missing, right now most people only see it on burn night.

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I agree completely.

Fantasy time would have it on a piece of land directly across from campus but I don't see that happening on many levels.

It would be great to see some big time donations to the cause of buying a good piece of property for future bonfires.

[This message has been edited by PJYoung (edited 11/21/2005 3:38p).]

That is why really five acres is not enough. 20 would insulate you from neighbors and allow for all parking to be onsite.

Good idea at least for a long term goal.

Lets buy 10,000 acres of oak 15 miles from campus, with a working oil field & on site refinery. Then next year, we can build the train for quick load/unload. Then finally, we can construct a perfect burn site with sloped hills and a 1/4 mile wide retractable dome over top to protect the site from rain and skydiving t-sips wanting to burn it prematurely.

So lets go old ags. Lets start the ASB land fund. Here's my $.02. We're going to need a lot more for all these grandiose ideas, cause talk is cheap.

/end sarcasam.

While I think your ideas have noble intentions behind them, its improbable to impliment these in the foreseeable future. I'd love to see ASB continue for generations of Ags to come, right now, lets work on the short term to ensure that a long term is possible.

I don't think 20 acres would be enough either, more like 200. And then you have to pay taxes on it every year. Not to mention, land in Brazos County is artifically inflated due to the pressure put on it by all the people who work for the university who want to live on 1-10 acre ranchettes.

Predmid, is that you dwight??

Party train! Let's do it...

Is it so unreasonable to think about having burn site that is visible from a main street? Just a patch of ground off 6 would be good.

How about the polo field?

Now we're talking in my realm, and I promise you that SB can't afford anything close to Hwy 6.

Even if you could get it zoned correctly (which you can't), it's prohibitively expensive. South of Rock Prairie, you're probably talking $200,000/acre. Farther North (say all the way past William J Bryan), you're looking over that price. In North Bryan, you're probably back down in the 130K range...but still way too high.

This just isn't feasible off of HWY 6, or just about any other location worth owning in B/CS.

How about some dirt cheap land in west texas or New Mexico. If you really love Bonfire you will drive to Fort Stockton to see it burn!

http://bcs.mlxchange.com/Pub/EmailView.asp?r=676419341&s=BCS&t=BCS

Nah, just a sarcastic newly deseased crewchief who was a little bored at the time of the post.

I am a big proponent of purchasing a permanent site. Buy it in Brazos County, in an area that is or will be in the College Station ETJ. That way, you have the potential political force (45,000 college students) to counteract any politicians/judges/D.A.'s that might be a little, uh, negative. Alternatively, (or concurrently) buy a site and have the Legislature create a special Bonfire zone with burn privileges and Ag exemption for taxes. The time for that will never be better than now, with Perry as governor.

I believe we'd need to go for at least 50 acres. 30 acres will give you 5,000 parking spaces (that's about 15-20,000 people without any busing). Another 20 acres gives you a site with a buffer of almost 500ft from Stack in any direction. Ideally, you purchase from a large landowner who gives you an option on surrounding acreage and grants you a "burn easement" that runs with the land.

I think you could buy a suitable site for about $300,000.00 or less, and with a little work could find a few Ags (and I do mean just a few) that would underwrite this.

That's the basic framework I envision. Oh, and once we got that solved, we start on purchasing land for reforestation. I'll let some Forestry Ags weigh in on that one, but nothing like owning your own supply of logs. "And over here, we have our trees for the class of 2045..."! Whooooop!

[This message has been edited by AnalogyAg (edited 11/22/2005 4:27a).]

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That way, you have the potential political force (45,000 college students) to counteract any politicians/judges/D.A.'s that might be a little, uh, negative.

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I hope you will pardon me if I sound frustrated with these comments. This has been discussed numerous times and frequently demonstrated that A&M students have practically zero political influence in Brazos County because the don't vote. Students run for city council all the time counting on fellow students voting, only to get smoted by the local candidates. the cops target college students because they know the students don't have any political clout. And while the county and city respect the economic engine the university and its students provide, they are not going to bend over backward to let them put on Bonfire and neither is the legislature.

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$300,000.00 or less, and with a little work could find a few Ags (and I do mean just a few) that would underwrite this.

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I am fighting to raise $3,500.00 to pay for the tickets that were necessary to light this year's Bonfire, let alone $300M.

I thought this would be a possibility in the next few years if Bonfire continued to be a profitable venture, but with only 5,000 attendees this year, it isn't a realistic goal.

I support any person or group who attempts to procure land and get donors for it. That would be amazing. Please don't take my post as pessimistic. I have seen the students build Bonfire for 4 years now and am being realistic. The students have the drive to raise this much capitol, but I don't know if there is the buzz among the Aggie Community to pull the funds from.

Good luck in this venture, whoever starts upon it's path. It is a long hard-traveled road.


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If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a Soldier.

It is indeed a hard road. Like the old saying, "If it was was easy, anyone could build it." Back when it was till on campus there were a lot of little things that the unversity picked up, and even at that the RP's were continually panhandling local A&M clubs and selling shirts and bumperstickers for money.

I have been a very harsh critic of the way Bonfire was operated in the past and still have some questions about the way things are done today off campus, but I certainly admire the tenacity, committment, and persistence of the students who have tried to keep this thing alive. You are all to be commended.

Burdizzo- that's why I said POTENTIALLY. No question the students aren't doing it now, but they might be in worse shape in another county that has ZERO reason to cater to the students and you might be subject to the whims of a couple county bigwigs.

Opie- I am not talking about $300k from nickel and dime donations. Note I said a "very few" donors- i.e., a sugar daddy.

I think that event planning will lead to the large crowds. But they need to 20,000 first. Problem is a chicken egg one though.

I also think that until the university plays its last cards, those bid donors will not step up. If and when they issue a final no to return, then I would not be surprised is some old ag might not make a plot for bonfire as a permanent legacy in a will for instance. What a great final gift and reminder.

It's a nice thought, but there is no endowment for the Aggie Band to travel to away games right now either. I wouldn't hold my breath. Bonfire has always subsisted hand to mouth just like a lot of other student organizations, and given the controversy and liability of the event, a permanent Bonfire site is probably decades away if at all. Like 3GA said, I think a more realistic goal would be to build a cocnsistent Bonfire with consistently large crowds that rekindles the spirit we have lost over the last few years. Worry about the permanent site later.

Heck-move it to Grimes County. those hillbillies don't know how to stop anything, even a CS landfill in their back yard.