Future of Mac Court Committee Report
Submitted to the president and provost
March 1, 2009
The University of Oregon faces both a challenge and an opportunity. McArthur Court (Mac Court), opened in 1926 as the home of UO basketball, is soon to be replaced by the new Matthew Knight Arena. The question on everyone’s mind is “What do we do with Mac Court?”
Following the charge from the provost and the president, the Future of Mac Court Committee, comprised of faculty, staff, students, and alumni, sought to answer this question.
The committee's final report outlines a broad range of potential future uses for Mac Court and its immediate surroundings, establishes criteria for the evaluation of those potential uses, and recommends four alternative potential uses for further consideration and investigation.
c.1930 2008
Criteria
The committee carefully considered Mac Court’s historic importance, as well as immediate and long-term academic space needs within an expanding campus, and developed a set of criteria designed to assess potential uses. The criteria described in the report clearly state that the new use must address an identified academic space need (criterion #1) and be well suited for the location (criterion #2), currently on the edge of the academic core. Beyond these two primary requirements, the criteria specify that every effort should be taken to adaptively reuse Mac Court, with the understanding that the resulting spaces will be of the highest quality, designed to meet intended needs, flexible to accommodate changing needs, sustainable, and structurally and economically feasible.
Proposals must meet criteria #1 and #2:
1. Further the university’s academic mission of teaching, learning, and research.
A. Address student needs
B. Meet identified academic space needs
C. Consider long-term trends
2. Be a good fit for the location.
A. Tie to the academic core
B. Be the right size (consider adjacent areas)
C. Become a part of campus
D. Relate to unique University St. and area characteristics
E. Be compatible with adjacent uses
Second tier of criteria: #3 - #7:
3. Historic and cultural value - ideally adaptively reuse; at a minimum, save portions of the building.
4. Highest quality, designed to meet intended needs.
5. Flexible spaces to accommodate shifting needs.
6. Sustainable approach.
7. Structurally and economically feasible.
Alternative Uses for Further Consideration
A list of possible uses was generated primarily from the existing list of capital projects identified through the UO Capital Construction project prioritization process.
Following review of all context issues, academic space needs, and criteria, the committee identified four alternative uses for further consideration and detailed investigation (not listed in any order of priority):
- Innovative Learning Center
- Combination of identified classroom, faculty office, and lab needs - E.g., Psychology Facility (about 45,000 gsf) combined with other needs
- School of Architecture and Allied Arts
- Residential Hall combined with an academic component
The most important element common to all recommended alternatives is their ability to meet the two required criteria (#1 and #2) – they address an identified academic need and they are well suited for the location. Some alternatives meet these criteria better than others.
In reviewing the alternatives, the committee differentiated between uses (i.e., what should happen on this site) and treatment (i.e., what should happen to Mac Court). The alternatives described above are potential uses. All alternatives retain the potential for adaptive reuse or removal of Mac Court.
Next Steps
Once an alternative is selected for further consideration, the committee specifies that a careful analysis should be conducted to determine if the preferred treatment - adaptive reuse - is viable with the understanding that all other criteria must be addressed. In addition, affected departments should be consulted and all other possible sites should be evaluated.
The committee concludes that the future of Mac Court cannot be determined until an academic use is selected. Until that time, Mac Court should be retained in its current condition, with the recognition that there are ongoing maintenance costs associated with the building.
How to Learn More
Click Here for a pdf of the full final report.
Report Appendices:
Part 1 Appendices A-H
Part 2 Appendices I-N
Part 3 Appendix O
Part 4 Appendix P
Click Here for two-page summary handout.
