The Oregon State Senate Business and Transportation Committee heard testimony on Monday afternoon from state officials and University representatives involved in the construction of Matthew Knight Arena to determine if the financial and contractual elements of the project are being handled in accordance with state law.
Vice President of Finance and Administration Frances Dyke represented the University in deliberations over the terms of an Oregon Secretary of State-endorsed audit of the arena project and the associated parties. Although audits of this kind are typically conducted upon the completion of a project, Dyke said that given the magnitude and cost of the development, the University fully invites such a review.
“Because this project is so large, we have been in favor of an audit since day one to ensure we are on target,” Dyke said.                      
John Williams, a consultant for the Plumbers and Steamfitters Union 290, opened the proceedings with a presentation. Williams asserted that there is a consistent lack of transparency regarding the arena project and that the bidding process for the construction contracts was essentially nonexistent.
At the hearing, Dyke defended the University by highlighting the fact that 82 percent of the construction project involved Oregon firms and that the construction site supplies more than 300 jobs per day for in-state builders.
In response to the public records concern, Dyke outlined University President Richard Lariviere’s plan to create a new, stand-alone Office of Public Records, which would be solely responsible for providing transparency for all University affairs. She also said the University has nothing to hide from the auditors and will comply with all state efforts.
“If the state audit finds any illegal activity or violation of law,” Dyke stated, “the University will not hesitate to take the appropriate actions.”
However, State Sen. Rick Metsger, chairman of the Senate committee overseeing the testimony, expressed trepidation about the issues surrounding the Oregon Arena Project, specifically with what he saw as wholly insufficient record-keeping by the University.
“Even if there’s no impropriety or laws being broken, it smells bad and it looks bad,” Metsger said. “It is bad and it erodes the trust of the people we work for.”
Last year, a group of concerned parties led by the Oregon and Southwest Washington Fair Contracting Foundation (OSWFCF) purchased a billboard directly across from Matthew Knight Arena on Franklin Boulevard that reads, “Respect Public Records Laws/ UO Arena Project.”
The group contends that the University purposefully skirted the legal bidding process in order to grant the contract to build the new arena to a firm called National Championship Properties, a for-profit subsidiary of the UO Foundation. The builders group says the National Championship Properties acts as an agent for the University by withholding or delaying the release of what should be public record.
“The amount of time it has taken to get a public records request processed is far longer than we are used to dealing with,” OSWFCF Executive Director Daniel Bonham told the Emerald in January. “For this institution to be not completely transparent and forthcoming is a concern for the public.”
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