As the demolition of Hamilton Hall concluded, the University of Oregon’s Campus Planning Committee held a meeting to discuss details of the construction of volleyball courts and a green space that will be built on the land where the over 50-year-old dorm hall stood.
The women’s beach volleyball team was added to Oregon’s NCAA athletic programs in 2014 and still has no official facility. The team practices and competes at the Grace Beach Courts at Bushnell University. UO is currently facing a Title IX lawsuit from the beach volleyball players and coaches, as well as the club rowing team, for the lack of facilities, but the lawsuit was filed well after the plans for the courts were underway, according to UO spokesperson Angela Seydel.
“The University of Oregon is committed to providing equitable opportunities, treatment and support for all student-athletes, in full compliance with Title IX. We strongly disagree with the allegations made in the lawsuit and are confident in the steps we’ve taken — and continue to take — to support our women’s athletics programs,” Seydel said in a statement.
Beach volleyball coaches and players were adamant the location of their facilities be in the new green space, despite the land being designated as a “temporary” use. This means that the university could build on the land later on and remove the courts, but according to the CPC, “temporary” could still mean decades of use before changes are made.
The planning and fundraising for the volleyball courts started in 2019, and after several considerations, the final location was approved in 2023. Situated on the corner of East 13th Avenue and Agate Street, the green space will be the first sight that campus visitors see as they pass through the major thoroughfare.
According to Aaron Olsen, assistant director of campus planning, the new open space will include three beach courts, a storage/restroom building and lawn berms for seating during games. There will be an open space around the courts, “designed to support informal outdoor activity” for all students. The space will include “open lawns, pedestrian paths, mounded landscape areas, new trees and seating,” Olsen said in a statement.
The construction of the green space and beach volleyball courts marks the last step in the Hamilton Walton Transformation Project, which has included the construction of Unthank Hall, New Residence Hall and Yasui Hall.
The UO athletic department said that the new facility has been in progress for a long time and they are “excited to see it come to fruition and to continue enhancing the experience for the UO Beach Volleyball program.”
In the planning meeting, which was the fourth meeting held to discuss details of the new green space, the CPC specifically discussed the volleyball scoreboard and its location and design.
The proposed location of the scoreboard — which is designed to be eight feet tall and 30 feet wide — is in between the courts and the Ford Alumni Center. This gives it the most visibility by players, officials, spectators and pedestrians passing by from the west.
Cheyenne Dickenson, a master’s candidate and program coordinator at UO, had concerns about the placement of the sign, suggesting it would cause a “screen” or separation between the alumni center and courts. She proposed potential signage on the reverse side of the scoreboard for visual appeal.
However, according to Olsen, the university’s Campus Outdoor Sign Plan “establishes that no commercial advertising is allowed on exterior signage.”
No advertisements means no ad revenue — and the total cost for the construction of the courts and scoreboard is estimated to reach $2.3 million.
By the meeting’s end, the CPC approved the design and location of the beach volleyball scoreboard with the condition that there is no permanent commercial advertising on the scoreboard.
