The University’s $200 million bond request won approval from the state legislature on Friday, leaving the University with only a few minor checkpoints before it can break ground on the project as early as this summer.
With the bond request out of the way, the University is now focusing its efforts on figuring out where to park the additional fans and clearing up land-use rules with city planners.
The bond request faced some opposition in both the House, where it passed 46-10 and the Senate, where it passed 22-8. The request was lumped with several other spending requests, which now go to Gov. Ted Kulongoski to sign.
Rep. Phil Barnhart, D-Eugene, spoke out against the project, which has drawn the ire of many residents in the Fairmount Neighborhood, where the arena is set to be built.
“We are being rushed to consider this very expensive project,” Barnhart said. “This is a very, very large sum of money that the University is willing to saddle itself with.”
It was the Legacy Fund, which will be established by Phil and Penny Knight’s $100 million donation, the creation of an Arena Bond Reserve Fund from $1 ticket surcharges and the announcement of a lucrative advertising deal that seemed to assure most legislators that the athletic department will be able to shoulder the debt of the bonds.
Ten University students traveled to Salem on Thursday, some fighting to persuade the Joint Ways and Means Committee to kill the funding proposal before it could get to the full legislature.
Ultimately, it was the administration’s message that prevailed.
“This will raise the visibility and reputation of the University as it tries to secure additional private funding for all kinds of projects,” Oregon University System Chancellor George Pernsteiner told legislators. “There will be a positive effect in terms of the recruitment of students.”
Next steps
The University must get the green light from the State Board of Higher Education in order to actually sell the bonds it received from the legislature. But because the state board already gave the University permission to ask the legislature for the bonds, seeking the board’s approval to sell them is more of a formality than a hurdle.
The University also must get approval from the Eugene City Council, which is required to authorize the destruction of the Villard Street Alley. The alley, which runs behind the former Williams’ Bakery lot and 7-Eleven, will be built over when the arena is finished, said city planner Steve Ochs. The University still needs to acquire the lot where 7-Eleven currently sits and is expected to use eminent domain.
Parking will be the most significant challenge the University faces in the coming months.
The University doesn’t need to find parking for all 12,500 to 13,000 fans that will attend games, only the incremental increase above what 9,087-seat McArthur Court currently draws.
A report by David Evans and Associates, expected to be released in March, will show how much parking the University needs to meet city code.
University President Dave Frohnmayer said spectators will be encouraged to park off campus and take EmX to the arena.
The University already owns a lot adjacent to the Williams’ Bakery site that could create roughly 400 parking spaces. That site was purchased with funds from the sale of the Westmoreland Housing Complex.
It’s also close to finalizing a deal for property owned by Oregon Department of Transportation east of the Williams’ Bakery site that could be used for more parking.
Even with the property the University already owns, documents submitted to city indicate the University is seriously considering a 500-spot parking structure, possibly underground.
Satre Associates, Eugene landscape architects, submitted documents to city planners for a pre-development conference Feb. 28 that will guide University administrators on how to meet zoning laws.
But Frances Dyke, vice president for finance and administration, told The Register-Guard that the University is only considering an underground garage and hasn’t made a final decision.
It’s unclear how the University will fund the parking structure, as parking is not a part of the $200 million budget.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report