The Pit’s the place
McArthur Court is every
thing that is right about
college sports.
The place has no luxury boxes,
caters to the students, and you can’t
find a drop of alcohol in the entire
place. (Of course, serving alcoholic
beverages is banned by the NCAA,
but it’s kind of ironic considering
that “Budweiser” advertisements
adorn the third-level seating area.)
As the venerable 75-year-old
Mac Court hosts its first, and likely
its last, Pacific-10 Conference Tour
nament this weekend, the specter
of a newer, more modem arena has
reared its ugly head. I mean, isn’t it
kind of a neat thing to say that Ore
gon has one of the most revered
gymnasiums and playing facilities
in all of the college world?
It’s definitely been a treat to be
able to see some great basketball
played at the Pit since I arrived at
the University last year.
But discussing a new building is
kind of an inevitable thing in this
day and age. This is something that,
in a perfect world, no one wants to
talk about. Corporate sponsorships
and luxury boxes are the name of the
game today, and undoubtedly will
become the sole focus of a new are
na, whether those discussions are a
year or 20 years from now.
And that’s a shame. The new
buildings across the country sparkle
like a diamond in sunlight, but there
really is no personality to them.
Some of the greatest places to watch
a game—like Stanford’s Maples
Pavilion or Duke’s Cameron Indoor
Stadium—are neither the biggest
nor the most plush. But, boy, can
they pack the fans in.
The Pit is definitely one of those
buildings. The players love stand
ing on tbe Oregon “O” at half-court,
and the fans, well, let’s just say,
they are some of the most intense
on the West Coast. What other
school can lay claim to a nickname
like the “Pit Crew,” much less take
pride in it?
So now there is discussion about
a new building that would seat
16,000. Of course, with a capacity
like that, the place would be a mul
ti-purpose facility and could host
more than just basketball.
But 16,000? Is that really neces
sary? Is there really a need to attract
the Britney Spears and ’NSYNCs of
the world?
Absolutely not.
And to say that Oregon basket
ball could continually pack in
16,000 per game is foolish talk. The
Pit holds a little more than 9,000
fans and has sold out just six of 16
men’s home games this season.
But unlike football, basketball is
not of religious stature to the peo
ple of Eugene. Sure, when the
teams are successful, the fans will
come out in droves. But what hap
pens when the Ducks have a down
year?
The city of
Eugene could
not support a
16,000 seat
arena, but it
could support
a building, of
say, 13,000.
That number
could be ap
propriate for
the kind of at
tendance fig
ures the Ore
gon basketball
teams already receive. The
women’s team, for example, fills
more than half of Mac Court during
their games, which is tops in the
Pac-10. These figures would easily
translate into an arena that size.
But whatever is decided, the
Oregon Athletic Department needs
to make sure that all teams get ac
cess to the new building.
University Vice President Dan
Williams said Monday that fans
will still be able to see “wrestling,
volleyball and possibly women’s
basketball ” at McArthur Court if a
new building is constructed.
I just have one question to that:
Why wouldn’t every team that’s able
to play indoors get the chance to
compete at the new facility? Every
athlete on campus deserves to get the
same treatment as others on campus.
Just because volleyball doesn’t
attract more than 1,000 fans a
match doesn’t mean they wouldn’t
benefit from an improved facility
Of course, something like this
would need to be discussed if a new
arena is agreed upon, but that kind of
talk needs to be dismissed. Each ath
lete has a right to the best things the
University has to offer, and a new sta
dium would be one of those things.
The day is upon us when the un
thinkable has begun to happen. It
has been in the back of everyone’s
mind for quite awhile now, but
only recently has the presence of a
new facility been discussed.
It’s tough, but we’re all just going
to have to like it.
But whatever happens, remember
the 75 years that McArthur Court has
given die University. There will nev
er be another place like it.
Sports brief
University to install
new field with NeXturf
University students will be the
beneficiaries of the decision not to
reinstall last year’s playing surface
into Autzen Stadium when the ma
jority of the facility’s renovation is
completed this summer.
Instead, the NeXturf synthetic
surface, installed in Autzen Stadi
um for the first time last summer,
will be used by the University to aid
in the addition of a second artificial
surface field on campus for use by
the Department of Physical Activity
and Recreation Sendees.
The new turf field, originally
planned as part of the construction
of the Recreation Center two years
ago, was deleted from the project to
remain within budget. The field
will serve to complement Oregon’s
lone multi-purpose student recre
Wrestling
continued from page 9
Fresno State on Feb. 8 and No. 25
Oregon State on Feb. 13.
Oregon is not ranked in the Divi
sion I Coaches Poll, but Fresno State
holds the No. 20 position. The Bull
dogs recently defeated No. 13 Ari
zona State and a strong Cal Poly
team. Fresno State’s senior leader,
Stephen Abas (125 pounds), now
holds a school record of 137 victories.
Individually, four Oregon
wrestlers are ranked in their weight
classes. Heavyweight Eric Webb is
ranked No. 20, falling one spot from
Women’s
continued from page 9
the best single-season percentage in
the Ducks’ history.
Finally, at 4.15 assists per game,
she ranked sixth in the Pac-10.
Sophomore Cathrine Kraayeveld
was fourth in the conference in
field goal percentage at .500, and
with 7.6 rebounds per game, she
ranked sixth in the conference.
Craighead ended her Oregon ca
reer by shooting 42 percent from
beyond the three-point arc, and
was ninth in the Pac-10 with 1.79
steals per game.
Record watch
Craighead, who finished her reg
ular season career with two three
pointers against Washington on
Saturday, now has 160 in her ca
ation field, which is primarily used
for the University’s intramural
sports and recreational programs.
The second artificial surface,
which will be located immediately
south of the existing recreational
field and to the west of Hayward
Field, is expected to be completed
in time for the beginning of the 2002
fall term.
The Athletic Department’s gift
will not only include the turf, but
the site excavation and preparation
for installation as well, with all the
costs, including the purchase and
installation of the new turf at
Autzen Stadium, estimated to be be
tween $800,000 and $900,000.
When the synthetic surface was
installed at Autzen Stadium last
summer, the original intent was to
have it removed following the
Ducks’ final football game Dec. 1 in
order to diminish possible damage
that could have occurred during the
current stadium expansion and ren
ovation project. It was then to have
been permanently reinstalled in
time for the 2002 football home
opener against Mississippi State on
Aug. 31.
The Athletic Department has de
cided to replace the former surface
with FieldTurf, which consists of
polyethylene and polypropylene
fibers designed to resist extreme
temperature and weather condi
tions.
“Because of our extraordinary
football season, we are in a position
to offer our turf to the Department of
Physical Activities and Recreation
Services free of cost, thus enabling
intercollegiate athletics to install an
alternate product that will be more
suitable to our needs,” Oregon Ath
letic Director Bill Moos said. “NeX
turf will be ideal for PARS consid
ering the demands on their facilities
from intramurals, club sports and
general student use. ”
—from staff and wire reports
last week. No. 17 Brian Watson
maintained his ranking in the 141
pound class as did No. 10 Shaun
Williams at 125 pounds. Senior Eu
gene Harris (165 pounds) improved
his ranking one slot from last week
and now holds the No. 4 position.
Up and down Beavers
In their last dual meet of the sea
son, Oregon State broke Boise
State’s seven-match winning streak
with a 20-11 victory on Feb. 16.
This win followed two straight
losses to Fresno State and Oregon.
The Beavers’ heavyweight
wrestler No. 7 Jason Cooley won
reer. That is good enough to place her
second all-time in Oregon history,
trailing only Missy Croshaw’s 189.
Her 42 percent made this season
is also good for fourth all-time, this
time trailing Michele Ebele’s 1988
89 mark by 5 percent.
At one of the guard positions,
Williams has again made her way
into the record books. The Portland
native is ninth in school history in
scoring at 1,335 points. She trails
eighth place by 57 points.
Williams scored 471 points this
season, including 331 in Pac-10
play. If she keeps up that pace, she
will end her Oregon career next
season with 1,806 points, good for
fourth all-time.
Regular season notes
The Ducks finished 10-8, their
ninth straight winning season in
his seventh straight match in the
win and Oregon State head coach
Joe Wells is encouraged with the.
way his team is wrestling.
“This was a big match for seed
ing opportunities and for us to
vault off of this dual meet win,”
Wells said. “Boise State had just
come off beating Oregon and Fres
no State, and we kind of won in
fine fashion, so I’m pleased with
me win. I’m excited about opportu
nities for the Pac-10 champi
onships.”
E-mail sports reporter Chris Cabot
at chriscabot@dailyemerald.com.
conference play... Oregon averaged
72.7 points per game, fourth in the
Pac-10 ... Three Ducks recorded
double-doubles this season, with
Kraayeveld earning five ... On Jan.
6 against Arizona, Williams became
the only Duck to post more than 30
points in a game with a career-high
tying 31... Kraayeveld was the only
Duck to be named Pac-10 Player of
the Week when she earned the hon
ors on Feb. 18 ... The Ducks led the
Pac-10 again in attendance as 4,613
fans on average watched Oregon at
McArthur Court. They did not,
hoT' *er, draw in the largest crowd
of the season; 6,193 watched Ore
gon State defeat the Ducks in Janu
ary, but an earlier Stanford-Ten
nessee game in Palo Alto, Calif.,
attracted 7,391 people.
E-mail sports reporter Hank Hager
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
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