Resolution US03/04-1 -- Opposition to possible siting of the
basketball and event arena at or near Howe Field location
Proposed by: Mike Russo, LCB -- Management
For action at: October 8, 2003 University Senate meeting
Whereas, a basketball and events arena is being considered for a location
at or adjacent to Howe Field, and
Whereas, this arena would eliminate open space in direct violation of
the Campus Long Range Plan, and
Whereas, this arena would be completely out of scale with surrounding
buildings, and
Whereas, this arena would result in the elimination or relocation of a
number of student facilities including but not limited to intramural fields,
the three-year old indoor tennis courts, the Outdoor Recreation Center, and
Howe Field itself, and
Whereas, a parking structure for the arena may require the relocation of
important track and field facilities, and
Whereas, LTD would need to quadruple the number of buses to serve game
nights, and
Whereas, congestion around the arena on game and event nights would
overwhelm the capacity of nearby streets, and the parking structures built
along with the arena would create very significant traffic in the surrounding
neighborhood not only for events but every working day, and
Whereas, many of the University's faculty, staff, and students live in
these surrounding arenas and would be detrimentally affected,
Be It Resolved, that the University of Oregon University Senate hereby
expresses its opposition to the construction of a basketball and events arena
at or near the Howe Field site and urges the University to take the requisite
time to find a more suitable place for such a large facility.