“Objectively, the practice fields are the least effectively used parts of land by the University—so it makes sense to build on them,” Zewinski says. “After all, it is easier to move fields than buildings.”

But Spiegelman says that the relocation of athletic fields would face several formidable hurdles.

“The land is very wet, you have to find somewhere else to put athletics. There’s a whole lot of concerns,” she says.

Spiegelman says she is also concerned about the many prominent alumni who support athletics.

According to Harris Band, the University’s director of planning, building on the marshy, riverside turf where athletics field are could potentially cost twice as much as building on dry ground would.

Zewinski, who was a varsity athlete himself in his college days at Harvard, says that he is comforted knowing that the stadium “is a fixture, and protected as a historic landmark.”

“I think Bill Kirby, Dick Gross, and Larry Summers have a real appreciation, and that is good to know—I think the decision on the fields will be in good hands,” Zewinski says.

Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?

While individual schools ponder their plans, the University’s top administration has a big decision to make—even if they don’t stick to the original August deadline.

Krieger says that while leaders at some schools like the Graduate School of Design, the School of Public Health and the Graduate School of Education, have expressed interest in making a cross-river move, he says that these schools are “peanuts,” and do not represent large enough entities to create a real campus alone.

“The University is probably saying that we need someone with bigger revenue to move first,” Krieger says.

Krieger speculates that the recent slow-down with Allston planning stemmed from a realization that there was slightly more growth potential in Cambridge than previously thought.

“Things seemed to have shifted from ‘We need to do something tomorrow,’ to ‘Let’s hold on and just wait some now,’” says Krieger.

In the meantime, faculty and administrators at schools across the University are biding their time and crossing their fingers.

“We are just holding our breaths at this point—we’ve taken our best shot [with the Locational Options Report] and we’ve done our part and now it’s out of our hands,” Fried says.

—Staff Writer Jessica Rubin-Wills contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff Writer Lauren A. E. Schuker can be reached at schuker@fas.harvard.edu.