With the buzz about the new arena around them, an 11-person committee is trying to decide the fate of the University’s historic McArthur Court after it is abandoned for the new facility.
The committee, chaired by landscape architecture professor Robert Melnick, began meeting early this term to sift through future use options for the 81-year-old structure.
Although the committee is still in the early stages of gathering information, Melnick said it is likely that one of its recommendations will be some kind of adaptive preservation.
“There are two basic ways to preserve a building: Keep it exactly as it is, or take the existing structure and adapt it to a new use protecting its defining characteristics,” Melnick said. “It’s more likely going to be the second option, where (we use) adaptive preservation.”
The committee was appointed by former University Vice President and Provost Linda Brady last spring with the charge of investigating the potential future uses of the structure and presenting a report and recommendation to University President Dave Frohnmayer this spring.
Melnick said the final report will include three options for how to use the old arena.
The committee will spend the remainder of fall term reviewing and identifying the potential future uses and the contributing factors involved in those uses.
The committee is focusing on three major issues: the arena’s historic and cultural importance to the campus community, the academic space needs of the campus, and the building’s physical and structural issues, Melnick said.
“We want to do this very carefully, and not say, ‘Oh, it’s historic, save it,’ or ‘it’s structurally unsound, demolish it,’” he said.
Frohnmayer announced last spring that McArthur Court will be used for academic space or support services on campus.
“McArthur Court is a campus landmark that has served the university for decades,” Frohnmayer said in a University release last spring. “In addition to financial stability for UO athletics and tremendous regional economic stimulus, a new basketball arena also benefits the university’s academic mission by freeing up this highly coveted space near the heart of campus.”
Contributing to the committee’s final recommendation is a report compiled by the Provost’s Office last year outlining the academic space needs of the University, Melnick said.
In addition, the committee is reviewing engineer reports on the structural integrity of the building.
During winter term, the committee will begin holding public forums to get public input from the University community, but the dates of these meetings have not been set, Melnick said.
“We won’t have a set of options (outlined) until late winter quarter,” Melnick said. He added that the committee will try to address a wide range of future uses between the three final choices for Frohnmayer to take into consideration.
[email protected]