Ben Schorzman has the story in the RG:
“I’m glad Oregon State is willing to step up and take it on.”
According to OSAA sports information director Steve Walker, it grew increasingly expensive for the organization to hold tournaments at Moda and Matthew Knight Arena. Because they’re newer, larger arenas, ticketing was more complicated, and there were other fees and costs associated with the venues that don’t exist at either the Chiles Center or Gill Coliseum. … The site change ends an 11-year run of the OSAA hosting a basketball tournament in Eugene. … Matthew Knight Arena has hosted the past three 5A boys and girls tournaments and will do so again this March. Walker explained the costs were what drove the OSAA from both places, not the experiences.
As the reader who sent me the link notes:
Nothing like a fine athletic program to market the higher ed brand, and develop connections with Oregon High School students. Bringing all the 5A kids to campus each year is a priceless marketing tool. Too bad UO charges too much for it.
I’ve heard that the athletic department also charges UO steep fees for using the Knight Arena for graduation ceremonies. Perhaps we should move UO graduation to Gill Coliseum too?
Use Reser – holds more people, which is handy when you’re handing each graduate their actual diploma, plus you can save on setup costs…
Since we’re renting out Mac Court, why can’t we compete with the athletics department for hosting these events. If pricing is done in a Bertrand fashion, we’d arrive at a competitive market equilibrium!!
Like.
I’m actually serious. Why don’t we start renting out Mac Court for events? Instead it sits vacant…
Ah, too bad that UO didn’t pay more attention to the senate budget committee report on the Arena financing and how they were going to have to overcharge in a scramble to pay the debt — especially if the economy tanked (which it promptly did, tsynami-style — where was the senate budget committee when Bernanke needed them?!). My understanding is the AD scoffed at the senate report — but the Hat was very grateful to the budgeteers when their predictions turned out to be dead-on correct, and he was able to use their report to CHA.
And too bad if the AD in their scramble for ever-more dough is damaging the good name of UO (what’s left of it) as an organization that is at least partly concerned with the well-being and the life of the state of Oregon.
Kind of like certain star athletes charging for their autograph or being mean to little kids — not a good way to live.
The fact that the Knight Arena is so expensive that it has chased in-state HS students away from UO should be a scandal of the first order.