Has Memorial Coliseum been saved?

Memorial Coliseum, photo by Brian Libby 

Nathalie Weinstein reports in Tuesday's Daily Journal of Commerce that the Request for Proposals process for the redevelopment of Memorial Coliseum has been suspended until further notice. The city will now move forward to the next phase of the Rose Quarter Development Project.

The three finalists generated by the city's Stakeholder Advisory Committee - the Blazers/Winterhawks proposal, the Memorial Athletic and Recreation Center and the Veterans Memorial Arts and Athletic Center - were encouraged by Mayor Sam Adams to prepare a joint RFP for renovating the coliseum. But in those meetings, says PDC project manager Kevin Brake in Weinstein's article, the teams and the PDC realized that budgets for two of the proposals - the MARC and VMAAC - would far exceed the $24 million in public money available for the project, and the likelihood of a voter approved general obligation bond, such as recommended by the MARC team, seems challenging in this economic climate.

Upon hearing the news, I was jubilant but inquisitive: Does this mean Memorial Coliseum has been saved, I wondered? Well, yes and no. The city is continuing with the overall Rose Quarter redevelopment process, and an RFP could still be issued down the road for the Coliseum. But based on what I've been told in talking with Brake and others, I think that's unlikely.

Memorial Coliseum, photograph by Julius Schulman, courtesy Taschen 

"When we’ve looked at programmatic elements….we wanted to be sure we’re setting realistic expectations of what can reasonably fit in the Coliseum," Brake told me by phone. "More and more it seems that keeping the bowl is the most supported option both from a preservation and cost standpoint. But we see those programmatic elements could have a place in the Rose Quarter Development."

In other words, the city likes some of the programming ideas that were introduced by two finalists, the MARC and the VMAAC: amateur athletic and arts facilities. But fitting either of those programs into the Coliseum is looking to be too challenging - not to mention too much of a battle with preservationists and the Coliseum's protection under the National Register of Historic Places. Yet if MARC, the VMAAC or both proposers could help find a way to get their proposals to fit elsewhere in the Rose Quarter, be it along the riverfront where a parking lot now sits or on the site of two hideous above-ground parking garages, versions of their plans could still make it into the finished Rose Quarter.

"We’ve got [MARC proponent] Doug Obletz saying he can bring USA swimming to the table to create a regional center for swimming which could mean up to $20M in additional funding," Brake added. "Sandwiching that in the bowl seems challenging given their programmatic requirements. But we want to explore it in a collaborative way. But what are people’s thoughts? Do we want a large athletic recreation facility? And how does that relate to the rest of the city? We need to evaluate the total need for any of these programmatic elements through a thorough market analysis."

One example of how some collaboration could work: The Blazers talked about bring on Nike as a partner for an interactive museum of some sort. Wouldn't that jive really well with the amateur athletic facilities proposed in the MARC plan? Just do it outside the Coliseum and I'd support that marriage in a heartbeat.

So the Rose Quarter development process continues, as it should. This is a huge development in the center of the city that desperately needs to be re-imagined and made more of a thriving district where people live, work and play. There is plenty of room to accommodate a spectrum of programmatic functions in this massive parcel of land. It seems to me the city has figured out that it makes more sense to develop the under-utilized portions of the Rose Quarter than the one irreplaceable gem that was already there: Memorial Coliseum. What's more, the MC and the Rose Garden can function well as complimentary arenas. We just need the right mix of other programmatic functions around them, whether it's an affordable housing tower like local developer Randy Rapaport has proposed, a large hotel like the mayor and others have advocated (tied to the Convention Center), or more entertainment venues.

Memorial Coliseum, photo by Brian Libby  

I would dearly love to say at this point, "It's over! Memorial Coliseum is saved! Let the party begin!" Quite honestly, I'm not yet sure if we've arrived at that point. But it's clear we are closer than ever before to being able to declare total victory in the preservation of this internationally renowned architectural diamond in the rough, a secular cathedral of modernist mastery, and the sacred ground where the Trail Blazers won a championship and the Beatles played.

Comments

[Matt]

Tear it down - bring on baseball

[Brian Libby]

Yuk yuk yuk - nudge nudge. Oh thanks, Matt, I needed a laugh!

[marc]

I can't believe it. There's no money to fund these wildly pie in the sky ideas folks have come up with to completely repurpose the MC? I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you! Now that this rediculous process is nearing its inevitable conclusion, we can get on to reality. The Blazers are the only organization with the means to do anything with the MC. Without their money, the MC sits and rots. If keeping the MC as-is was the goal, you, indeed, are closer to victory. If actually turning this venue into something pleasant and useable was the goal, you're right back where you started.

[billb]

I agree B , put those other uses on the site , even on top of those ugly garages , and leave the
fine historic MC as it is , a good
work of Modern Architecture !
Long Live The MC :o]

[randy rapaport]

Please understand that our city and state
is in a deep economic recession and a
real estate depression.

The city has wasted yet another $500k
for consultants, lawyer fees, and time
with an outcome of trying to get the
three finalists to work together.
So nothing is happening.

An RFP should be released to have a responsible architecture firm like SERA and and builder like Howard S. Wright to team up and do a basic rehab of this historic piece of architecture.

The Blazers have 13 years left on their management contract. It is their legal right to see it through and by agreement, it is the
city's responsibility to pay for the costs of
the rehab.

The city needs pragmatic, sensible and intelligent leadership and business practices.
We can no longer afford the politics of the past.

So let's get on with it.

[dave]

I'm not sure how the MC has been saved? The status quo is not acceptable, and that's what we appear to have right now. You have a run down, under utilized sports area that few people look forward to going to. The seats are mostly busted up. The bathrooms are disgusting. The electrical system is a hazard. The MC will only be saved when someone is ready to move forward with renovation plans and the dollars to do it right. Without a complete overhaul, it will just be a matter of time before the teardown talk starts up again.

[Brian Libby]

Dave,

It may be true that the MC hasn't yet been saved in a way that assures its future success as a fully refurbished arena. I meant that the MC may be saved from renovation attempts that would have gutted the building.

I completely agree the status quo is not acceptable. But plans are being put in place to restore the arena with the upkeep it not only deserves, but the city and the Blazers have been legally bound to provide.

I do disagree vehemently, however, with your assertion that the MC is under-utilized. It drew more events than the Rose Garden last year!

But again, I'm thinking you and I agree more than we differ here. Let's restore the MC as it deserves!

[Stuart Emmons]

Let's restore MC at once, like this July, per the Base Case, with the $24M (or whatever it really is) and put people to work this year. City General Services runs the project. The deal with the Blazers should be revisited so this public gem does not fall into disrepair again. As to the rest of the Rose Quarter, should we spend public funds (if available) on yuppie brewpubs/restaurants that threaten downtown and Lloyd/Broadway businesses, or should we focus most of our resources on schools and housing that give us our highest return on investment? And, enliven the Rose Quarter with simple solutions that are realistic and effective. Portland should be very cautious with the fine print of Cordish deals.

[jfwells]

Brian - when you say the MC had more events than the RG last year, what does that include? I would be extremely surprised to find out that the bowl was actually used nearly as much as the RG. And if you are counting meetings and such in the lower level of the facility that is a bit disingenuous.

I tend to agree with Dave - keeping the status quo will only give us the Parthenon eventually. Except the MC won't last that long.

[eric cantona]

Brian - check your notes, or call Kevin Brake and verify that Obletz is involved w/ US swimming. I think you'll find it's one of the other teams.

[Jim Klee]

Reality check people. The New York Yankees are bulldozing old Yankee stadium to make: youth baseball fields, football/soccer field with a track, basketball courts, handball courts, ect, ect. This is Yankee Stadium we are talking about, but Portland can't do the same thing with the MC? Are people nuts here? The MC and its bowl in box is not a work of art. The most appealing part to the design was rarely ever exposed because they kept the curtain drawn. It was a well served arena for many decades in this city. It has outlived its usefulness and we simply don't need it anymore. The original plan to put a ballpark in its place is the only plan that makes sense. It would create year round activity in the Rose Quarter and help rejuvenate that area with new restaurants and bars. With the Rose Quarter's close proximity to the Pearl Dist. and waterfront board-walk you could really connect the city and make the Rose Quarter a destination with a Ball Park.

[Brian Libby]

Jim,

Thanks for your opinion but I am in 180-degree disagreement.

You say "The MC and its bowl in box is not a work of art." I say, WRONG. So does the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the US Green Building Council, and the American Institute of Architects.

Although you're right that the building's best feature, the open curtain experience, has been allowed to happen frustratingly seldomly, this is precisely what makes it a one-of-a-kind work of architecture in the world.

A new ballpark is the LAST thing the Rose Quarter needs. Memorial Coliseum is so busy it hosted more events than even the Rose Garden last year. The two arenas together make a unique marketing opportunity because no other city in America can offer such a tandem. A new ballpark would have offered only a small fraction of the events that the MC already does.

And even if you could make a business/programming case for a ballpark on the MC site - WHICH YOU CAN'T - there would be the cause of saving a masterful work of art in architecture, designed by one of the most acclaimed firms of the 20th century.

Of course you and anyone else are welcome to offer your opinion here. That's what this site is for. But the authority you imply and the case you make, in my view, do not hold the slightest drop of water.

I wish the Portland Beavers minor league team didn't have to lose its home. I also wish more than a smattering of people in the community cared about the Beavers and minor league baseball. But having the city destroy art, history and economics just for a stadium with 1,200 people watching a game is a wholly preposterous proposition.