Despite indications that more enrollment and budget cuts could hit upper campus, UW Athletic Director Scott Woodward said this week that he believes state lawmakers will approve public funding for half of the proposed $300 million remodel of Husky Stadium.

That comes in light of recent remarks out of Olympia that indicate the proposal has not been met with much urgency.

“I have to tell you it’s not my highest priority,” House Finance Committee Chairman Ross Hunter, D-Medina, said last month. “My highest priority is dealing with the state’s budget problem and the proposed 13 percent cut of academic funding to the University.”

Woodward said that while lawmakers are preoccupied with the budget, he believes the issue of what to do with the tourism tax revenue — taxes on car rentals, hotels and motels and food — will be dealt with this year.

“I would think they would want to get these dollars encumbered and spent in these tough times,” Woodward said. “Because that’s one good thing the government can do. Your classic Keynesian economics — the government can spend on capital to help the economy in bad times.”

The school is asking the state for access to revenue from existing tourism taxes to raise $150 million in funds needed to bring the 88-year-old stadium up to current Americans with Disabilities Act and seismic regulations.

The taxes are being used to pay off Qwest Field, Safeco Field and the Kingdome and cannot be used for anything other than stadium construction.

The other $150 million would come from private contributions to be used for stadium upgrades and improvement of the fan experience, according to a University release.

Opponents of the UW plan don’t believe a renovation of Husky Stadium is a good use of taxpayer dollars, and say the taxes in question should be allowed to expire once they’ve served their initial purpose.

Others want the school to abandon the decaying Husky Stadium and play its games in Qwest Field instead. Although the UW has secured a preliminary agreement with the Seahawks for use of their stadium in 2010, the school says moving to Qwest Field would cost the athletic department more money, leading to lost revenue. And Husky fans would pay more for tickets, concessions and parking, according to the same release.

But Woodward sees the proposed Husky Stadium remodel as an opportunity to create thousands of union jobs “in the teeth of a downturn in the economy” and pointed to the stadium’s ability to attract tourists to the area.

Home games against BYU, Notre Dame and Oklahoma drew more than 20,000 non-local fans to Husky Stadium last season, Woodward said.

“To me, that’s a pretty good boost in the economy,” he said.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is also seeking to access $75 million for a renovation of KeyArena in hopes of attracting a new NBA team, and supporters of the state convention center want the state to authorize a $766 million expansion that would double its current space, though both plans propose using a different tax stream that the one the UW wants to tap.

Support among lawmakers for a similar Husky Stadium proposal waned during last year’s legislative session.

The legislature also rejected a proposal for an upgraded KeyArena for the fourth time last year.

This time around, all three projects face a common problem.

“There isn’t enough money to fund all the wild dreams of everyone involved in this process,” Hunter said.

Reach reporter Maks Goldenshteyn at sports@dailyuw.com.