The University is beginning to explore how it will use McArthur Court after the new arena opens in January 2011.
The provost’s office has appointed an 11-member committee, made up of faculty, staff, a student and an alumni representative, to review possible future uses for the facility and develop proposals for the provost’s office and University president.
“This committee will play a vital role in shaping the University’s future as Oregon’s flagship institution,” Senior Vice President and Provost Linda Brady said in a University press release. “I am calling on committee members to thoroughly investigate potential uses from a broad perspective, as citizens of the University community.”
Robert Melnick, Mac Court Committee chairman and interim director of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, said that officially the space will be used to serve the University’s academic and space needs, which he said means academic and student needs. The committee, he said, will use a list of criteria to determine what the best use of the facility will be.
“It’s a rare opportunity for a campus of this scale and size to have such a large area come available so close to the heart of campus,” said Melnick.
According to the committee’s project description, it will make proposals taking into account the University’s academic and space needs, campus priorities, and the area’s opportunities and constraints.
“McArthur Court is a campus landmark that has served the University for decades,” University President Dave Frohnmayer said in a news release. “In addition to financial stability for UO athletics and tremendous regional economic stimulus, a new basketball arena also benefits the University’s academic mission by freeing up this highly coveted space near the heart of campus.”
Melnick said the committee will submit three different proposals to the University by spring 2009. Because the planning process is just beginning, there is no solid timeline for when potential construction work on Mac Court will begin, but Melnick said his best guess would be in four to five years.
“We can’t do anything until everyone moves out of (Mac Court),” Melnick said. “That’s the reason we’re starting now – we know this is going to happen.”
The committee has not yet met specifically to discuss the future of Mac Court, but Melnick said that initially it will not be taking monetary issues into consideration, although later in the process this will be a key factor. Additionally, Melnick said that at some point the committee will make time for campus and public input.
While making its decisions, the committee will be specifically looking at recently developed capital projects lists for the University, according to the project description. Melnick said this list includes space needs for all the departments at the University.
Finally, the committee must keep in mind the space constraints and other limitations inherent in the Mac Court facility. It will consider the “opportunities, constraints and potential synergies with existing facilities and uses in the immediate surrounding area,” according the project description.
Because the site is of historical importance to the University, having served as the basketball arena for the past 81 years, Melnick said that the committee will have to balance the historical value of preservation with the academic space needs for the campus.
“At this moment everything is on the table, from adaptively reusing Mac Court to demolition,” said Melnick.

Correction

Because of a reporter’s error, the name of the University’s art museum was incorrectly stated in Tuesday’s Emerald (“McArthur Court’s future still unknown,” ODE, 5/13/08). Robert Melnick is interim director of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.
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