The new arena that University administrators hope to build will replace the 80-year-old McArthur Court as the home of Ducks basketball, and also provide lower Willamette Valley residents with the largest venue around to host concerts and attractions. But it may give local residents a headache if the University doesn’t include them in the plans.
The proposed arena site lies on the east side of campus, in the Fairmount Neighborhood, where the old Williams’ Bakery building now sits dormant on the corner of Franklin Boulevard and Villard Street. In 2004, that stretch of road handled more than 27,000 cars per day, and the city’s transportation department recently put speed humps in the area to discourage people from cutting through the neighborhood, said Rob Inerfeld, the city’s transportation planning manager.
The city and the neighborhood base share a desire that the University have respect for the Fairmount Neighborhood adjacent to the arena, Eugene City Councilor Alan Zelenka said. “We’re concerned with traffic, parking, noise, large numbers of people, trash and the other stuff an arena brings,” he said.
But the University has already had some conversation with the local neighborhoods. University President Dave Frohnmayer sent a letter to local communities. The letter shared “the excited news of (the) $100 million gift from Phil and Penny Knight,” referring to the donation that allowed the University to move forward with its plans for the arena.
However, the University has said it does plan to engage in more in-depth dialogue with the surrounding neighborhoods in hopes of addressing any unsettled feelings local area residents may have.
“Yes, we’re going to communicate with the Fairmount and other neighborhoods. I have no doubt that there will eventually be meetings with them as well, but nothing is planned in the foreseeable future,” said Greg Rikhoff, community relations director for the University.
The University also plans to look into traffic studies and parking issues concerning the local areas once the financial information is more detailed and University officials have more of a concrete idea of their resources. But doing any of that now “is like putting the carriage before the horse,” University spokesman Phil Weiler said.
Portland development company TVA Architects designed a model based on the projections of a 405,000 square-foot arena that would hold 12,500 seats, private suites, club seats and donor seating – Mac Court only holds around 10,000 people. The feasibility of adopting TVA’s plan will be better known after an Oregon State Board of Higher Education meeting in November spells out the University’s financial wiggle room and planning issues for the arena.
“There is going to be at least 12,500 seats, but there is the potential of being more than that,” and we just don’t know all of the detailed information yet, Weiler said.
Planning for the new arena has been in the works since 2002, but these earlier plans were stalled by lack of funding. After the donation of $100 million from the Knights, the University decided it could once again get the ball rolling on the $200 million project.
But the University still has several hurdles to clear, including the proposal and approval of a city building permit that hasn’t yet been submitted.
“This is a huge project for the city. It’s $200 million – it’s big,” Zelenka said. “The tension arises from the fact that there is going to be a proposal, and we don’t want the University to put in a proposal without having a conversation with the city and neighborhoods. You’re likely not to get the support of neighborhood and city officials like me.”
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