LATEST MEDIA COVERAGE:
On the Blazers plan to relocate the veterans memorial to a new site:
“But the most prominent part of their plan — to set up a memorial at a new nearby park along the river — may not fly with veterans who don’t want to move off-site. Like Harley Wedel, a Portland veteran who served in the Korean War: “Their proposition eliminates the veterans from any kind of interest in the coliseum itself,” he said. ”All they’re trying to do is move us away from it, so as far as we’re concerned, that’s not satisfactory.”
–1/28/10 Oregonian – http://bit.ly/bYIp9D
“This is this generation’s Pioneer Square moment,” said Obletz, referring to the city’s decision in the early 1980s to convert a parking lot downtown into Portland’s most popular open space, Pioneer Courthouse Square. “This is our chance to turn the coliseum into the people’s playground.”
–1/28/10 – Architectural Daily – http://bit.ly/aEGPcE
“Another favorite is the Memorial Athletic Recreation Complex, or MARC, a proposal from development firm Shiels Obletz Johnsen. It would turn the Memorial Coliseum into a multiuse athletics center with training facilities and demountable playing surfaces.”
–1/27/10 – Daily Journal of Commerce – http://bit.ly/dapDAk
“Doug Obletz’s rousing pitch for MARC declared this as a crucial time for public input over the future of public space, “Memorial Coliseum is this generation’s Pioneer Square moment!”"
–1/26/10 – Blogtown Portland – http://bit.ly/cJcraz
“(The) video introducing MARC to the world begins with the words “Imagine… Jump” appearing in white on a black screen. The words quickly fade into “Imagine Jack and Jill Jumping” but the satire is clear—Obletz is setting up his idea as a clear alternative to the Blazers’ Imagine JumpTown.”
“Blazers’ VP J. Isaac confirms that the Blazers’ might drop the plan to revamp the Rose Quarter if the option chosen for Memorial Coliseum is at odds with their vision. . . MARC wouldn’t work with their plan for Jumptown, he specifies.”
–1/26/10 – Blogtown Portland – http://bit.ly/bjDW9j