Two ribbon-cutting ceremonies

Two major construction projects had inaugural ceremonies within 200
yards of El Camino Real and Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto within the last 24 hours. Here's a quick scorecard:

	Stanford Stadium	Opportunity Center
Purpose	Venue for football games, commencements, other major events	Housing for previously homeless singles and families, drop-in social services such as laundry, mailboxes, showers, etc.
Opening Date	Sept. 16, 2006	Sept. 17, 2006
Construction Cost	$90M	$24M
Private money raised	$90M	$9M
Start Date	November 26,2005	September 13, 2001
Capacity	50,000	131 (approx.)
Replaces...	84 year old 85,500 seat stadium	Canopy in field behind Red Cross building
Media Coverage (from Google News)	26 articles	1 article
Website	www.stanfordstadium.com	www.opportunitycenter.org
Bands Playing at Inaguration	1, Navy's (Stanford Band had been banned...)	4

I was personally moved to see the opening of the Opportunity Center. It's an amazing facility, with computer labs, a playground, a medical center, private and common areas that let residents share community or have personal space. I know that many people were critical to its creation, but wanted to especially acknowledge Jim Burklo, a minister in Sausalito, and former pastor at Stanford as well as founder of Urban Ministries of Palo Alto, for being one of they key visioniaries and tireless advocates for not just the building and its programs but also the people the building and program serve.

Thank you, Jim!