Recently the UO Nike arena proposal has failed to attract necessary scrutiny. Newspapers like The Register-Guard and The Oregonian have intentionally rushed and repeatedly endorsed the spiraling project. In January the UO Faculty Senate Arena Financing Subcommittee released a report that brings clarity to the gravity of the risks President Frohnmayer is taking on his way out the door. Starting on page eight, here are some
excerpts from the report:
“The safety concerns of Mac Court have been mentioned by Frohnmayer and other UO officials as a reason why a new facility is urgently needed. Our subcommittee made an effort to evaluate the safety of Mac Court. Our subcommittee focused on seismic risks, because the danger of earthquakes threatens all University buildings, and because studies have been done that compare the risks of various
University structures.
“On Oct. 18 the subcommittee invited Chris Ramey, senior architect and director of University Planning, to a meeting to discuss seismic risk studies and renovation potential for Mac Court. Mr. Ramey referred us to the University of Oregon Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan published in 2006, which includes a detailed building-by-building assessment of seismic risks. The seismic risk of McArthur Court is not at the level of the structures that are of greatest concern and is in about the middle of the pack overall. According to the plan, buildings that are at a higher priority for additional seismic assessment and reinforcement include Esslinger, Friendly, Fenton, Hendricks, Knight Library, Lawrence, Susan Campbell and Volcanology. We conclude that from the perspective of seismic safety, McArthur Court is not a top priority for retrofitting or replacement. It is important to address the issue of whether the Athletic Department will pay the costs of the ongoing maintenance and eventual demolition of Mac Court and Esslinger.”
The contents of this report show that the media’s idiotic Trojan Horse-Nike arena proposal must
be scrapped.
Zachary Vishanoff
Eugene