A not-so-farfetched assessment of technological advances foretells a bleak future for bricks-and-mortar college campuses.

In an age when one can earn a degree on a smartphone in his living room, what will keep a university campus viable for generations to come?

The question is important enough that Longwood University spent nearly a million dollars on a master plan that sets a vision for not just its campus, but for downtown Farmville, for the next quarter-century.

The plan, described in detail on the front page of Friday’s edition and unveiled for community leaders at a reception Thursday night, is bold but achievable. Stakeholders can, and surely will, debate the merits of the plan’s individual components, but as a collective blueprint for the future of Longwood and downtown Farmville, the plan appears to be a home run.

The pun is intentional, as arguably the crown jewel of the master plan is a downtown baseball stadium that could be transformative for our town’s central business district, in much the way that big-league ballparks like Baltimore’s Camden Yards have revitalized urban centers.

Imagine six months of baseball – Longwood’s Lancers in the spring and a Class A professional minor league team in the summer – regularly bringing crowds of people to eat in downtown restaurants and spend money in Main Street retail shops.

Or rock concerts in an expanded Willett Hall. Or an acoustic show in a new performing arts center.

Longwood President W. Taylor Reveley IV understands that college campuses will remain relevant by creating a destination and an experience – for students, alumni and townsfolk alike – that cannot be replicated on a smartphone.

As our community quibbles with the details of Longwood’s plan in the months and years ahead, let us, to use another baseball metaphor, keep our eye on the ball: a thriving university that sustains downtown Farmville for generations to come.

STEVE STEWART is publisher of The Farmville Herald. His email address is steve.stewart@farmvilleherald.com.