Home of the Oregon Ducks basketball team, Matthew Knight Arena is more than a sports facility; more than a floor made of wooden planks and greasy popcorn. For many, seeing a popular music artist or a monster truck rally means they end up in line by the bronze Oregon Duck that sits outside.
Across the city, venues accommodate for an array of spectacles, from tens of thousands of fans to gatherings of few for intimate performances. For this reason, Eugene draws a spectrum of diverse artists. But as the venue grows to accommodate, so does the price tag to use the space.
Seating 12,364 people, MKA was built in 2011 to replace McArthur Court and was named after Nike owner Phil Knight’s son Matthew, who died in a scuba diving accident in 2004.
In 2017, MKA saw a range of musical artists, from Snoop Dogg’s 420 Wellness Retreat to WWE Live. According to Senior Associate Director of Operations and Events Mike Duncan, the first music artist to play at MKA was heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold in 2011.
According to Duncan, the pricing can vary depending on the situation — $45,000 is for shows using the lower level and $60,000 is for both upper and lower levels. For example, Foo Fighters paid the full $60,000 when they came to Eugene.
But the rental fee is not the only money that the university makes from these artists. Duncan says  UO retains 20 percent of all original merchandise sales and 10 percent of digital sales through the “Program, Novelty, Parking and Concession sales.”
If a musical artist sells 500 t-shirts at $30, UO gains $3,000 from that 20 percent in sales.
According to Duncan, the cost covers more than just using the building but affords ushers, security, ticket takers and janitors, along with the use of MKA’s equipment, such as chairs and staging.
Although uncommon, Autzen stadium also has a history of musical artists playing there. The Grateful Dead played there in 1994 and again in June 2018 as Dead & Company. For Dead & Company to play Autzen in 2018, it cost $200,000, along with the same fees and percentages for merchandise.
In some situations, like Snoop Dogg’s 420 Wellness Retreat on April 21, 2018, the university will also retain $2 from all ticket sales, which is considered a facility fee.
For other venues in Eugene, the grandiose venues such as Autzen and MKA don’t mean other venues lose artists. For example, the Hult Center draws artists with a different character than those looking to perform at major arenas, according to Rich Hobby, the Center’s director of marketing.
“We are a performing arts center — meaning we focus 100 percent on putting shows on our stages year round,” Hobby said of the Hult Center. “The size of our halls is focused on creating intimate and engaging experiences during performances. Not that you can’t have a great experience at the MKA – it will just be different.”
According to Hobby, some artists will play both MKA and Hult Center, and if an artist is new to the area, they’ll usually go with the smaller hall. While the Hult Center offers smaller and more comfortable shows, it doesn’t always mean the best show.
Libby Morris saw Jack White at the Hult Center in 2012, and said while White was an incredible performer, the venue was not the best.
“The sound quality at Hult was disappointing as there was a lot of feedback and noise distortion,” Morris said. “I don’t think that I would see another electric show there.”
For Hobby, comparing the two facilities for size or experiences is difficult.
“We don’t really lose any artists or performances to Matthew Knight Arena,” Hobby said. “The main reason for that is comparing the two venues is a little like apples to oranges, or more like apples to watermelons.”