Release in ‘30 to 60 days’
Feasibility study eyes new Mac Court
By RICHARD SEVEN
Of the Emerald
The bouncing scoreboard and
screaming fans may become a part of
Mac Court’s history if a “feasibility
study” on a new University basketball
pavilion by alumni and Eugene
businessmen proves favorable.
The study, headed by Peter Wingert,
a Vida businessman and former Univer
sity athletic director and Eugene lum
berman Peter Murphy, is scheduled to
be finished in “30 to 60 days."
Murphy warns that the new pavilion
project is still in the research stages but
says it “definitely looks promising.” Ar
chitecture firms have been contacted for
cost analyses, businessmen have been
asked for monetary or material dona
tions and Eugene residents have been
surveyed for information on community
support.
The survey asked if citizens would
be willing to pledge money toward the
new pavilion, and responses have been
favorable, Murphy says. “It’s getting
close to the time that we have to decide
whether to go with this project or forget
about it,” he says. ‘The timing is crucial
with inflation. Construction costs are
going up weekly.”
Murphy estimates the actual construc
tion of the program won’t be started until
the beginning of 1979 at the earliest.
University Pres. William Boyd has
said he hopes the pavilion uses mostly
wood, because it would be an “expres
sion of the pride and the quality of life in
Eugene.”
Murphy says using wood for construc
tion would enable the builders to use
lumber donations from the numerous
mills surrounding Eugene.
Boyd and John Caine, University ath
letic director, have expressed their de
sire for the pavilion to hold at least
17,000 seats — the minimum needed to
house the NCAA basketball champion
ships. The cost of the facility is expected
to run about $10 to $17 million.
Murphy says he feels once the build
ing is completed it will pay for itself by
attracting better concerts and events as
well as offering more seating for Duck
sports fans.
Caine says the University could im
mediately sell nearly 8,(XX) season tick
ets to the general public. The University
currently sells 4,500 season tickets and
has a waiting list of more than 2,000. The
amount of tickets available to students
hasn’t been determined as yet, but that
will probably depend on the proportion of
incidental student fees that are used to
fund the project.
Mac Court was built in 1927, costing
$175,000. It now seats 10,500.
Murphy says the new civic auditorium
being constructed in downtown Eugene
won’t conflict with community approval
for the pavilion.
“Our needs will be very different for
both structures,” he says. “Ours will be
large and hopefully draw wider areas of
community interest. The auditorium will
be smaller and be used mainly as a cul
tural environment. Both facilities will
complement Eugene; this city is ready
for both.”
Boyd has already said that in order to
gain his support the project must show
there is enough booking through dona
tions and gifts. His other priorities in
clude other needed capital construction
projects, such as ensuring access to
University classes libraries for the hand
icapped.
However, Boyd feels the new pavilion
would benefit the college and draw more
students to the area and thus could ulti
mately solve some of its current budget
ary problems.
Caine says the project would have
locker rooms and facilities or skating and
paddle tennis, among other activities.
He also emphasizes that Mac Court
would still be used extensively.
A possible site for the pavilion would
be on a strip of University land located
adjacent to Alton Baker Park.
Peace Pilgrim to speak
The Peace Pilgrim, an elderly woman who has walked 25,000
miles on the North American continent, will speak at the University
Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. in the EMU courtyard.
She plans to be in the Northwest through 1978, saying she will
“remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way to peace.” Her
appearance at the University is sponsored by the Survival Center.
I
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LEAVING FOR THE SUMMER?
Art and text for this ad created by
University students Ann Mori
and Alan Yamamoto for Pacific
Northwest Bell.
BRING YOUR TELEPHONE
TO US WE LL GIVE YOU A
$5 CREDIT.
THAT’S RIGHT, $5.00
If you’re a telephone subscriber in your private residence living off
campus, and are completely disconnecting your entire residence—it’s
easy. Just unplug your sets (if your phones are not the plug-in type, just snip
them two inches from the wall connection) and bring them to the EMU Main
Lobby from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., June 8,9 and 12, or to the Eugene
PhoneCenter store open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., open late Friday, June
9 and Monday, June 12 through Friday, June 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. In
Springfield, the PhoneCenter store is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday
through Friday.
Then, we’ll give you a $5 credit on your closing bill. So, on the way out don’t
forget your telephones. You’ll be doing yourself a favor. Any questions? Call the
PNB Business Office, 343-8601.