The basketball court in Matthew Knight Arena will be named Kilkenny Court, after athletic director Pat Kilkenny and his family donated $5 million to the project.
University President Dave Frohnmayer announced the court name and donation Saturday at the arena groundbreaking ceremony.
Frohnmayer expressed his gratitude to private donors, without whom he said the arena could never have been built. He also thanked the Fairmont Neighborhood Association and the Eugene city staff and council for allowing the arena to proceed, as well as the Oregon State Legislature for approving the bond money for the project.
All of the above groups, Frohnmayer said, made possible the “most massive public works construction project in the history of Lane County.”
Kilkenny said he had planned to donate the $5 million for awhile, and the gift was not a surprise to Frohnmayer or the athletic department. The money will go to both the project and the Legacy Fund, which was started with a $100 million donation from Nike founder and Oregon alumnus Phil Knight.
The arena project has been one of Kilkenny’s major objectives since coming to the University and has taken longer to start than he had hoped, he said.
However, on the day of the groundbreaking, Kilkenny was glowing. He introduced his family members, who all contributed to the donation, and made jokes about each one. “This is a pretty proud day for our family,” he said.
Also attending the groundbreaking, although not making any donations, were Knight and University alumni Dennis Dixon and Ahmad Rashad, both NFL players.
“I think this is one of the greatest things that’s happened to the University. There’s so many beautiful new buildings on campus,” Rashad said. “It’s great for the school, great for the city, great for the state.”
Dixon, who had been part of the ceremonial groundbreaking, said he was “excited to actually just have a shovel in my hand and be right next to Phil Knight.”
The athletic department began exploring plans for the arena in 2002, and the stadium is expected to open in fall 2010. The project will cost more than $200 million. It is named after Phil Knight’s son, who died in 2004.
Knight, who addressed the crowd at the ceremony, said he thought it would have been a great moment for Matt, had he been able to witness it.
Although the excavation on the construction site began several weeks ago, Frohnmayer, Knight, Kilkenny and others took turns moving dirt with golden shovels.
Looking around the site that is already a large hole and littered with heavy equipment, office trailers, hay bales and portable toilets, Kilkenny said, “I’m wondering if we’re a little late for the groundbreaking.”
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