“The key to enlivening the Rose Quarter and making the Coliseum an even better facility is to add activity to it,” said MARC mastermind Doug Obletz.”
–4/15/10 – kgw.com video is here: http://bit.ly/9A5LmB
Track & Field supporters will push hard at City Council tomorrow in support of World Class indoor track as part of MARC proposal.
See: http://bit.ly/cmneqt http://bit.ly/bhcfcQ http://bit.ly/bVs2Zv
“A plan that would include a competition-level, 200-meter indoor track as part of a Memorial Coliseum redevelopment was one of three to get a go-ahead from the Portland City Council on Wednesday. Advocates for each plan now are expected to come up with a more detailed proposal.”
4/15/10 – Ken Goe, OregonLive.com. See: http://bit.ly/bcVAse
“I haven’t heard a single person from ICURAC of the various neighborhoods within the boundary say that they support the Rose Quarter expansion,” said Chott. “The Trail Blazers have had the right to develop the Rose Quarter properties for the past 15 years, why are they deciding that right now is the right time to do it?”
–David Chott, land use chair for the Overlook Neighborhood Association
See: http://bit.ly/b6gqen
Onward Oregon takes on the Blazers’ Coliseum and JumpTown proposal and calls for action:
“As you may know, the leading contender is the Trail Blazers’ plan to create an entertainment district called “Jumptown.” Many feel that such a district, including their proposal for the Memorial Coliseum, would serve a narrow demographic and will privatize a space that was once shared and owned in common. We are concerned that Jumptown & the Trail Blazers’ plan for the Memorial Coliseum will make Memorial Coliseum a commercial and community deadzone.”
More at: http://bit.ly/bZhp4l
All Interested Parties:
The opportunity for the MARC proposal to be a viable re-use option for Memorial Coliseum hangs in the balance. Despite on-going and recent efforts by the MARC Team to call attention to the inequities in the current selection process, the City Council is poised on April 14th to approve the next step in the process– the issuance of a Request for Proposal (RFP). Unfortunately, recent developments have not enhanced the chances of the MARC being considered in a fair, public process.
Despite efforts of Portland Mayor Sam Adams, Portland Arena Management (PAM), which is controlled by the Blazer organization, has refused to agree to a modification of their exclusive operating rights to the Memorial Coliseum in advance of a competitive selection process to select a proposal to revitalize Memorial Coliseum—a competition that they are part of. Without major changes to the Blazers operating rights, it is unlikely that any viable plan for the Coliseum– other than the Blazers’ own plan– can succeed.
The current operating agreement between the City and PAM allows the City to cancel the agreement, but would not allow anyone else to use this public building for spectator purposes. Our plan is particularly impacted because we propose to use net income from spectator events to help offset the operating costs of the proposed public recreation uses. Without the ability to conduct spectator events, the economic viability of our plan is at severe risk.
The Blazers are effectively holding a valuable public building and veteran’s memorial hostage. Larry Miller, President of Portland Arena Management (PAM) and the Blazers made this abundantly clear in a March 16th letter to Mayor Sam Adams (PAM Letter 3.16.10):
“PAM is open to discussing changes to the Memorial Coliseum operating agreement if such discussions prove necessary. PAM reserves the right to decide in its sole discretion whether it will agree to any such changes.”
Essentially, what the Blazers have said is: ‘let’s have a competition, then we will decide, “in our sole discretion”, who wins’. How fair is this?
Miller also stated in his recent letter that:
“The current agreement is also very important to our business model, so any changes to the agreement will need to add significant benefits to PAM. At present, it is difficult to envision changes to the agreement that would fully protect interests vital to PAM”.
While the Blazers say the Coliseum is important to their business model, they have consistently said they lose money on Coliseum operations. It would seem that their business model is based on making sure the Rose Garden gets the most lucrative events at the cost of marginalizing the Coliseum. While this may be in the Blazers’ interest, it is clearly not in the public interest.
A copy of our most recent letter to the Mayor’s Stakeholder Advisory Committee is here: Letter to SAC 03.23.10
The bottom line is that the City is asking the MARC team to engage in an expensive, complex and risky selection process, the outcome of which is controlled by the Blazers. We believe that the Council should put an end the current process and find a better way to select the best plan for Memorial Coliseum, including, first and foremost, modification of the Blazers’ exclusive and obstructionist operating rights to the Coliseum.
There are two ways you can help convince the Council to change the current process:
1) Testify before the City Council on April 14th. The basic message should be: ”The MARC is great project and deserves a fair shot. The current process is not fair.” If you are interested in testifying, please let us know via an email to info@marcpdx.org.
2) Send an email or letter to the members of the City Council. Email and mailing addresses are available on the “Support” tab of this website.
Thank you for your continuing interest in and support of the MARC proposal.
“Blazers Special Status Causing Conflict in Coliseum Re-Design”
3/24/10 – Rob Manning – OPB News via news.opb.org – http://bit.ly/ag0fth
“Amid objections, Portland mayor pushes ahead on Memorial Coliseum work”
3/24/10 – Ryan’s Frank’s Top 5 via oregonlive.com – http://bit.ly/budqkv
“Despite objections, advisory group moves ahead on Memorial Coliseum makeover”
3/23/10 – Janie Har – The Oregonian via oregonlive.com – http://bit.ly/bdexbb
“Doug Obletz, sponsor of the Memorial Athletic and Recreational Center, says the agreement needs to be changed for his proposal to proceed. Obletz hopes to use the spectator portion to generate revenue to help operate new community athletic facilities in the coliseum. But on Monday, Adams said the agreement does not need to be modified until the council chooses the final redevelopment proposal.”
3/23/10 – Jim Redden – Portland Tribune – http://bit.ly/9JiwW0
Despite the complete lack of progress on the key Memorial Coliseum Operating Agreement issues raised by MARC proponents (see posts below), the Rose Quarter Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) decided tonight to proceed with the proposal selection process without any changes.
Oregonlive coverage here: http://bit.ly/bdexbb
In light of the City’s and PAM’s response to the MARC Team’s letter to the City Council regarding the Memorial Coliseum Operating Agreement issues (see earlier posts), the MARC Team submitted the following letter to the SAC for consideration at the 3/23/10 meeting:
After a 2-1/2 week delay in the Rose Quarter/Memorial Coliseum process, Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Portland Arena Management (Portland Trailblazers) have responded. Their letters are here:
A reasoned response from the MARC team will be forthcoming soon.