The University went forward this past weekend with what some may consider the last piece of this campus’s intercollegiate arms race. Having spent close to $100 million on Autzen Stadium renovations in 2002, an additional $100 million — and that’s a rough estimate — for a new athletic arena shouldn’t come as much surprise.
What may have come as a shock, however, was the location where the University chose to locate the facility that will, in 2006, replace McArthur Court. After starting with a list of about 20, and then whittling it down to a more condensed assortment of seven locations, University officials announced Saturday that Howe Field would house the new arena.
A few weeks prior to the announcement, word began circulating that Howe Field had become the likely choice. At the time, no one really knew if the rumors were true. On Tuesday, the Editorial Board had the chance to sit down with University Vice President for Administration Dan Williams, who oversees the athletic department. We now know a little more, and here’s what he had to say:
After seven serious locations were selected to house the new arena, one quickly rose to the top in the eyes of many University officials. Williams’ Bakery, with its close proximity to campus and Franklin Boulevard, emerged as the top choice.
The arena would be situated there, were it not for a $20 million selling price the bakery requested. As Williams said, the University was looking to buy a piece of land; Williams’ Bakery was looking to sell a business.
With the red tape associated with the buyout, Williams said, the endeavor became beyond reasonable. The bakery eventually backed out of negotiations.
After the bakery location, Williams said, University personnel began looking at the courthouse site and the two University-owned properties, Autzen Stadium and Howe Field.
City officials were helpful during the process, Williams said, but they couldn’t make assurances that things would work out at the courthouse site. On top of that, buying land near Eighth Avenue could cost between $15 million and $20 million.
When comparing the two University properties, Howe Field seemed to be just as favorable as Autzen Stadium. But with the Howe Field site, the University could build much-needed parking and keep the facility in the heart of campus.
And thus, Howe Field was chosen.
Beyond that, the Editorial Board learned a handful of other tidbits that serve as an interesting subplot to the story.
When the athletic department announced that it had donor support for a new arena, few people — at least in this office — questioned whether it would be built. Turns out, University President Dave Frohnmayer only gave the go-ahead for the arena after approving nine or 10 individuals to donate toward the project who would also donate money for academics. The University, in the midst of a $600 million campaign — money of which went toward the Autzen renovation and will go to the new arena — didn’t want donors only committing funds to athletics.
While a final cost for the project has yet to be determined, Williams gave assurances that the relocation costs of Howe Field, the nearby tennis courts and the outdoor recreation facilities will be included in the total. Assurances, he stressed, are not promises, however.
All in all, Williams made a good pitch as to why Howe Field should be the home of the new arena. The relocation costs should be less than a quarter of those to purchase other land, more parking will be added on campus, the new softball field could be closer to other athletic facilities at Autzen Stadium and the arena will be centralized.
The only downside, it seems, will be the noise and road closures during construction, along with potential traffic congestion in the South University neighborhood the arena may attract.
We, like University officials, wanted to see the new arena go at the Williams’ Bakery site. But considering that could have cost about $15 million extra — more than 10 percent of the total project — we agree that it wasn’t feasible.
On the other hand, considering more than $100 million has been “secured” for the arena from just a handful of sources, what would have been another couple of million from each party?
Well, that’s just talk now. So, we applaud University administrators’ decisions. They made the right choice, provided the new facility isn’t named Swoosh Arena.