OSU president regrets treatment of nearby Stillwater residents

Thursday, December 22nd 2005, 9:42 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -- Oklahoma State President David Schmidly says he's sorry for the way residents were treated when they were told OSU wants to buy their homes to make room for an athletic village.

The university's property-acquisition consultant said during a meeting in November the residents should sell by June 1st or see their property taken through eminent domain.

Schmidly has spent the past month trying to repair the damage and anger caused during the meeting.

He says eminent domain is a last resort and that there will be no effort to buy property for at least five years and possibly not for 20 years except by mutual agreement.

OSU alum Boone Pickens has pledged $30-million to buy the property for the project which includes an indoor football practice center, four practice fields and a soccer-track venue.