The Student Insurgent is holding a forum on Friday at 5:30 p.m. to talk about the University’s proposed basketball arena project.
The meeting will be held in 180 PLC and will last until 7:30.
“If the legislature is going to make a decision they need to take into account what students think and not just what the president thinks,” said student Cimmeron Gillespie of the Student Insurgent.
University administrators declined to attend, but there will be a panel including at least one professor, Nathan Tublitz, and representatives from the ASUO and the Residence Hall Association.
Gillespie said the Insurgent will transcribe the questions students bring and send them to the administration and the legislature.
The University plans on building a 380,000-square-foot basketball arena about 50 yards from the Hamilton residence hall complex. The arena will replace the vacant Williams’ Bakery.
To pay for it, the University hopes to take out a $200 million bond from the Oregon Legislature this month and pay back the debt with revenue from the arena and donations over the next 30 years.
But just how much revenue the arena can earn depends on who is reviewing the numbers. Old reports suggest arena income could be as low as $4.1 million, and the newest estimates from private consultants CSL International suggest it could generate between $10 and $16 million.
If revenue from the arena falls short of the bond repayments, the University will cover athletic department expenses with the Oregon Athletics Legacy Fund, which will be established with Phil Knight’s $100 million donation to the athletic department.