An associate economics professor at California State University, Stanislaus says that the one-year delay in opening the 10th University of California campus in Merced won’t have much of a negative effect on the local economy.

“Certainly, next year there will be a slight impact,” said Kelvin Jasek-Rysdahl.

The one-year delay for UC Merced - previously scheduled to open in August 2004 - was included in this year’s state budget.

Frank Quintero, Merced city’s economic development manager, said Wednesday that the postponed opening won’t have a negative impact on the city of Merced or Merced proper.

He said that the campus will be an economic engine for the region, but one that won’t happen overnight.

And it’s that gradual buildup that helps protect the economy from detrimental effects of a short-term delay, according to Jasek-Rysdahl.

Given that UC Merced will take 25 years to grow to full capacity, he said a one-year delay is probably insignificant over the long term.

If there are more delays, however, or if the state starts cutting construction funds, then that would have more of an impact, he added.

At this point, the state has not said it will impose any future delays for the campus or pare down its funding for construction.

Construction - funded with lease revenue bonds - has continued at the Merced campus’ Lake Road site.

The state has earmarked about $280 million for the university’s first phase of construction, and according to James Grant, a UC Merced spokesman, the state has collectively invested more than $100 million into the project at this point.

“That’s pretty solid evidence that we’ve gone beyond the point of no return,” he said.

Regarding UC Merced’s impact on the local economy, Grant said that construction projects will create about 500 on-site construction jobs, 500 construction supply and support positions and 500 jobs in the service industry.

Speaking at a Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce breakfast Wednesday, UC Merced Vice Chancellor Lindsay Desrochers said, “Clearly, we want to be an economic stimulus, and we think we already are.”

Last year, according to Desrochers, UC Merced worked with over 2,000 vendors and spent about $3.8 million in the Central Valley.

The Merced community received nearly $544,000 from UC’s 10th campus, and Fresno received about $764,000 from the university.

According to Grant, the one-year delay will impact the university’s own budget by eliminating next year’s anticipated revenue from student fees.

That may mean less money will be pumped into the area businesses next year.

Plus, he said, the local economy will have to wait an additional year before the university’s future students start spending money in the Merced area.

It’s hard to a put a dollar amount on that impact, Grant added, but typically the students would be spending money on rent, buying books, clothing and other expenses.