Slam dunk: Trail Blazers return to Memorial Coliseum

Last night was a major treat: seeing my/our beloved Portland Trail Blazers return for a game at the arena where they began, the building where the team won the 1977 NBA championship as well as Western Conference titles in 1990 and 1992.

Even if Memorial Coliseum was a piece of junk, a work of architecture without distinction, it would have been fun to see the Blazers play in their old house. But as it happens, the building was a star of the show.

I loved thinking of Blazer fans who are regulars at the Rose Garden now, but were also frequently at Blazer games in the Coliseum before that, coming to the MC now and seeing the differences between the two buildings - not so much the missing video screens or electronic stat boards, but the greater intimacy at the Coliseum, more closeness to the action. My seat for last night's game was only about six or seven rows from the top, but it felt about the same as a seat only halfway up in the Rose Garden.

The team made the slam-dunk decision to leave open the curtain that usually blocks off views from the inside seating bowl through the glass box. I attended countless Blazer games in the 1980s at the MC, but I never have attended an actual NBA game there with the curtain open.

So as the likes of Greg Oden, Brandon Roy and Phoenix's Steve Nash competed on the court, fans were treated not only to the game but a view of Portland at dusk. My seats had their back to the downtown side, so I didn't have as good a view as people on the other side of the court. But I could still see through the glass the glowing twin spires of the Oregon Convention Center. And those sitting across the court were able to look out at the downtown skyline.

Maybe it was just my over-excited imagination, but I could almost swear that the Coliseum was louder than the Rose Garden. Granted the RG can hold 19,000 and the last night's sold out game had 11,700. But perhaps the greater intimacy of the arena meant that the acoustic levels went up. That and the fact that this was an incredibly raucous crowd for a preseason game.

Obviously sitting in the Coliseum watching the game, it was impossible not to think of the recent past with a battle to save the building, or to think of the future and wonder what this building will be renovated into. Although the mayor's Rose Quarter advisory committee is still open to any number of options, I'm very glad to see that the Trail Blazers franchise has moved away from the idea of removing the seating bowl or even a large chunk of it, and if the team retains control of the MC the seating bowl will likely remain intact. If the bowl does get altered, it now seems more likely that the team would merely remove some of the top of the bowl, which personally I see as a much better alternative to removing one side of it.

The Blazers lost the game to the Suns (which is OK because it's preseason), who coincidentally were the Blazers' final opponent in this building before moving to the Rose Garden in the 1990s. Also coincidental is the fact that Phoenix also once had an arena called Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where the Suns played. But Phoenix, a very different city from Portland, did not see fit to retain their old arena. Maybe that's okay, though. After all, their building may have a similar name, but Phoenix never had a glass palace.

Comments

[Garrett]

It took me 27 minutes to go to the bathroom, stand in line at a concession stand, and I got to my seat with 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and I didn't even have the hot dog I wanted because the concession lines were not moving.

They need to remove several thousand seats just to start. If there was an emergency in that place and people needed to get out quick there would probably be a large casualty rate considering the traffic jam that took almost 10 minutes to get out of the building. I'm really, really glad the Rose Garden exists.

[Bob Loblaw]

It took me 3 minutes to go to the bathroom, stand in line at a concession stand, and I got to my seat after only missing 15 seconds of hot Blazer action because I went during a timeout in the 3rd quarter. Any concourse will be jammed, any concession line will be long during halftime, so maybe think about that next time you're trying to do what 11,700 people are also trying to do.

Oh, and I got out within 2 minutes (Seat to door) because I used the closest available exit. In a building so simple and elegant, I wonder what type of emergency you'd experience that wouldn't also be a nightmare in the Rose Garden (aside from Travis Outlaw's play - ouch!)

[Brian Libby]

Garrett,

Even though I would second what Bob is saying, I do sympathize with what you're saying about being stuck in a crowd. I think some liberty could be taken in a renovation with removing the stairway on the west side of the concourse to bring more room there, and I also agree it might be a good move to put in new seating with wider legroom that reduces overall capacity. That said, I don't think any of this detracts from the broader overall architectural experience at the Coliseum being a special one. Did you notice the view outside, the one you'd never have at the Rose Garden?

[Luke Perry]

I too was at the game last night. I got there a little early and was watching my nephews getting their faces painted (red and black of course) and looked up to see that the curtain was down. I mentioned this to my brother and proceeded to take a peek at the goings on in the arena.

I was floored when I walked in and saw the Coliseum in a whole new light. What a beautiful building, and I wondered why they had never lowered the curtain during a game before. I of course snapped a few picturess and there are a number of them out there on the internet that are of higher quality than mine.

It was a magical night. The Memorial Coliseum, Bill Schonely, being with family, etc. I have not felt that proud of my city in years as I did last night. I would like to think that some of the maintanence people had the foresight to know that leaving the curtain down would really show of the building and would show the crowd how magnificent the building really is.

I would like to thank (again) Brian, Gil Frey, and all of the architects who worked so hard to give the building a new lease on life.

[Luke Perry]

Just to follow up on what Garrett had to say. Yes, it was crowded but I left for a bathroom/food break a few minutes before half time and had no problem. I am not sure if the lower levels had the concession stands going or not. I remember as a kid when I went to shows at the MC that every concession booth was always opened and people congregated as much on the lower level as they did upstairs.

I seem to recall in later years they shuttered some of those booths and forced everyone upstairs. Has that changed at all and what was it like last night?

[Greg]

Veteran's Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix still exists. I see it from I-10 every time I go down there:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Veterans_Memorial_Coliseum

[Marc Hull]

Is there any reasonable explanation for why it has taken 40 years for the curtain to be removed for an NBA game in the MC? Removal of that curtain makes the viewing experience unique unquestionably and it seems to me that it should have been done from the get go. Having said that, I don't think the "view from the bowl" is sufficient to save the old barn, but it's a real shame this feature was not highlighted over the decades the facility was in use as an NBA arena.

[ws]

With some of the 'dissing' of the MC that's been going on, isn't it just a bit ironic that we have the Trailblazers back in the...'old barn'... . The MC seems to have come in very hand here. Where might the Trailblazers have been playing if the MC had not been available? The Lloyd Center ice rink?

A picture showing the view of the city skyline through the coliseums glass curtain wall seen from the arena should have been included above instead of the earlier one posted, now taken down, revealing how the view through the glass wall has been obstructed by the massive roof and wall of the nearby Rose Garden arena.

[kitty]

curtain was not opened because the management was uncertain of the ability to re-close it again. all mechanical and fabric was original. Now, newly restored.

[formerPDXer]

Wow, thanks. Former PDXer here and while I've been to half a dozen or so MC events in the 1970s and 1980s, I don't think I even realized you could see out from inside the area area. I guess if I thought through the geometry it'd be obvious but the curtains were always up and most events were at night anyway. That's just spectacular with the curtains down!