• Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts, upgrade to remove ads and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your BigSkyFans.com experience today!

New Arena

The recession is impacting Oregon finances which will likely delay any effort on an arena....

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/recession_slices_1_billion_fro.html
 
Depends. Nearly everyone agrees that the Portland area will see considerable growth over the next years and decades. If PSU is to play the crucial role the city and the state want it to play, they will have to fork out the money. A 35k university *needs* a place to gather a couple thousand people in.

A problem will be finding enough private donors in tough economic times. Let's hope the local businesses will have enough foresight to understand how important PSU will be for their continued well-being.
 
I'm actually glad PSU is doing this exclusively with private funds because if this project relied on public dollars it wouldn't get built for a loooooooooong time. At least with private donors you have an outside shot.
 
Message to Phil Knight: Take your 100m back from the UO and give PSU 50m. You can put the Swoosh on the roof if you'd like. After all, the best college hoops team in Oregon resides on the South Park Blocks!
 
Never understood why we couldn't convince Phil to give PSU athletics a big donation. His wife is an alum, he taught at PSU and the swoosh was developed by a PSU graphics arts student. Why can't we get some love? Is it because our ADs are too dense?
 
I wonder the same thing. I wouldn't expect alot, but surely he knows that 1% of what he's given to UO would go a long way toward making a difference at PSU. On top of that, it seems like Phil wouldn't view PSU as a rival or a threat to UO, which would otherwise be a good reason for him to withhold donations.
 
ManOfVision said:
I wonder the same thing. I wouldn't expect alot, but surely he knows that 1% of what he's given to UO would go a long way toward making a difference at PSU. On top of that, it seems like Phil wouldn't view PSU as a rival or a threat to UO, which would otherwise be a good reason for him to withhold donations.
Click to expand...

And talk about rivals...Phil supposedly donated money to OSU so they could afford to pay Pat Casey's baseball coach's salary increase so he wouldn't leave for Notre Dame.
 
Not sure if this has been posted...

http://www.sinkcombs.com/projects/boards/index.html

No designs, but it looks like this is the firm that did the study on the renovation of the Stott.

They have some pretty impressive jobs/projects going on.
 
martymoose said:
Not sure if this has been posted...

http://www.sinkcombs.com/projects/boards/index.html

No designs, but it looks like this is the firm that did the study on the renovation of the Stott.

They have some pretty impressive jobs/projects going on.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting that. I really like most of their work and would be satisfied with something half as nice for PSU. I sincerely hope that any project includes an exterior revision for the side facing the park blocks. The addition of some glass or art would really improve the impersonal, austere brick that walls off the athletics center from the park. We need some architecture that connects athletics to the rest of the campus.
 
ManOfVision said:
martymoose said:
Not sure if this has been posted...

http://www.sinkcombs.com/projects/boards/index.html

No designs, but it looks like this is the firm that did the study on the renovation of the Stott.

They have some pretty impressive jobs/projects going on.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting that. I really like most of their work and would be satisfied with something half as nice for PSU. I sincerely hope that any project includes an exterior revision for the side facing the park blocks. The addition of some glass or art would really improve the impersonal, austere brick that walls off the athletics center from the park. We need some architecture that connects athletics to the rest of the campus.
Click to expand...


Thanks for posting. I hope they get some potential designs up for review. I agree that the Stott Center's side facing the Park Blocks is awful and needs to be rebuilt.
 
I thought the new arena fundraising was on hold until the new president came on board. Well, he's been here for several months now and I still haven't heard of any official announcements. Any updates?
 
http://www.pdx.edu/news/higher-ed-institutions-prepare-to-teach-more-with-less

With news like this, does anyone still seriously believe that the new arena will be built anytime soon? I think it is out of question that it will be built some day, but I'm sure Administration has more important things to worry about than raising money for athletics facilities.

Does anyone know what exactly Wim and friends will decide this spring? Is it just a general go-ahead or something more concrete?
 
PSU needs to do this now, Bone is kicking some serious butt, 2 20 win seasons in a row. I wanna come to a game when its done. Keep us updated about this topic.
 
Well, it's possible that Wim will give general permission to go ahead, but without any time line. It will be very hard to find a lot of private donors right now, even if Portland is managing a lot better than most places in the country.
 
The economy should be no excuse for not getting the go ahead. Wim should realize the need for this facility on campus, for sports and other university events. If the whole thing is to be paid for privately, and the AD is willing to take on the challenge of raising the money, then how can you justify standing in his way?
 
PortlandStater said:
http://www.pdx.edu/news/higher-ed-institutions-prepare-to-teach-more-with-less

With news like this, does anyone still seriously believe that the new arena will be built anytime soon? I think it is out of question that it will be built some day, but I'm sure Administration has more important things to worry about than raising money for athletics facilities.

Does anyone know what exactly Wim and friends will decide this spring? Is it just a general go-ahead or something more concrete?
Click to expand...

PSU can't do this on its own. It needs to partner with the City, Metro, State and Portland Development commission. Why not use hotel and rental car fees? This facility will help downtown hotels, restaurants, etc. This is a Portland Metropolitan area economic development facility. Not just a basketball arena.

What is not going to help is that we didn't sell out very many games coming off a NCAA Tournament year.
 
15 months. Wait for the recession to end. The state won't put anything in its budget until we're sure this is over.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top