An economist hired by opponents of a proposed on-campus stadium at Colorado State University released his own analysis Monday of the project's potential, criticizing the university's consultants for putting out overly optimistic projections.

"Only under the most optimistic circumstances will the net present value of the revenue streams generated by the new stadium exceed the cost of the stadium," Dr. Joel Maxcy said in a presentation organized by Save our Stadium, Hughes.

Even assuming a low interest rate of 3.5 percent on its bonds for the stadium, the university, he said, could lose $161.8 million over the next three decades on the project. On the other hand, it could earn $58.3 million over that span but only under the most favorable conditions — including consistently sold-out games.

Even Maxcy's best-case figure is many times smaller than the $336.8 million that the university's consultants said could be realized under their best-case figures.

The questions of how to pay for a new 43,000-seat stadium and whether such a project is economically justified have dogged proponents since Athletic Director Jack Graham first raised the idea just days after assuming his job in December.