In case you haven’t seen it yet, check out the walk-through video for the new basketball arena on GoDucks.com. Seeing the building’s innovative design and architecture will make you not want to graduate until you’ve attended at least one game as part of the new Pit Crew.
Oregon Athletic Director Pat Kilkenny is already living up to the promise of being the man to get the arena project done.
Kilkenny is cementing himself in Oregon lore as the man who will bring the basketball program to new heights by building the new arena in an attempt to make the sport as important in Eugene as football.
While he’s making progress on the funding for the arena, it’s what he was expected to do. He’s a businessman, so of course he’s experienced as a money generator. In that respect, I have no doubt that he will be able to build the arena within the next few years.
So I’m asking something more of him. Even if it is a bit far-fetched.
While many people hold Mac Court dear to their hearts, there’s plenty of interest in seeing it replaced by something more fitting to Oregon’s image as an athletic powerhouse. Although Mac Court has its charm, it isn’t nearly as impressive as Autzen Stadium in terms of amenities.
If Kilkenny really wants to cement his foothold in Oregon history and finalize its legitimacy as one of the nation’s premier college athletic programs, he’ll have to bring the University a collegiate baseball team.
I know it’s asking a lot, and there are plenty of logistics involved in adding a new men’s team, particularly one that typically has a roster with more than 40 athletes.
There are all those Title IX issues to deal with, a place to build a stadium and a whole lot more money needed to see anything accomplished. Generating over $100 million dollars in donations for a new arena is a difficult task, and Kilkenny would be even further pressed to get those same donors to open their coiffers again.
But what would the Eugene community rather see? A massive basketball arena that will undoubtedly take the Oregon program to the upper-echelon of basketball teams and would serve as a better recruiting tool than anything Mac Court could offer; or a baseball team that Duck fans can finally call their own, allowing them to stop secretly rooting for Oregon State, the defending national champions?
Of course in a perfect world, the arena and baseball stadium would coincide and would be a part of the same complex. Imagine an Oregon indoor baseball field adjacent to the basketball court.
According to the Oregon State baseball Web site, there are 21 native Oregonians on the Beavers. Imagine how many of those players would have chosen to be Ducks if Oregon fielded a team, or how many recruits would have stayed in state to play Oregon baseball.
In the coming weeks, look for my findings on the status of Oregon baseball, the history behind the team and its departure. But first I’d like to hear from some of Oregon’s former baseball players. I want to get in touch with them, hear about their experiences and ideas about the team. If you are a former player, or know of any former players, I’d like to hear from you and make sure Oregon baseball is not forgotten.
And who knows, maybe it’ll make a return in the near future.
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Kilkenny’s new mission: Bring baseball back to the University
Daily Emerald
May 9, 2007
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