This Week in the Mercury
Thursday, August 5, 2010
News Randy Leonard Dismisses "Raging Architects" and Calls Again for Demolishing Memorial Coliseum
Posted by Sarah Mirk on Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 2:20 PM
The city pitched the plan to demolish Memorial Coliseum back in March 2009, but quickly shelved the idea after vocal opposition from hundreds of Portlanders prompted Mayor Sam Adams to instead kick off a long public process to look at how to repurpose the historic building rather than tear it down.
But now the redevelopment process is stalled indefinitely and Leonard is apparently back on the "Knock 'er down!" campaign.
With no new home for the Beavers in Portland, millionaire owner Merritt Paulson has said he'll plan to sell the team at the end of the 2010 season. Leonard, with Paulson's support, told the Columbian that since the redevelopment process is falling apart, now is the perfect time to pounce on the Coliseum. From the story:
“It’s getting down to the wire," Leonard said. And what it takes is just the will of two more council members to stand up to the raging architects.” ... "The Coliseum is arguably a better site today than it was then, because of all the pushback. Sam went through a public process to try to identify a better use for the Coliseum. And the reason it fell apart is there is no good use for the Coliseum. The only thing that’s changed is, more people now know that it’s not an economically viable venue.”Save Memorial Coliseum leader and raging architecture critic Brian Libby hit back today on his blog, invoking war over the modernist landmark. "The Friends of Memorial Coliseum are ready to put bullets back in our weapons and do war," said Libby.
3
Randy seems to have temporarily forgotten that the ones controlling this process are not the "raging architects," but the Blazers, who want to revamp this whole thing for their "Jumptown" idea.
5
I don't see why they keep looking at the coliseum... There's space for a ballpark other places around town. It could easily fit in some of the vacant space in the south waterfront or where Cirque du Soleil sets up. It would be just as close to downtown, have good streetcar and car access, and nobody has to go through the hassle of tearing anything down.
6
@Reymont
But how many of those are profitable at all? How many are Winterhawks games that could be scheduled for play in the Rose Garden?
But how many of those are profitable at all? How many are Winterhawks games that could be scheduled for play in the Rose Garden?
8
i love that idea of a riverfront stadium. and Cirque shows up before baseball season, so they can perform on the field.
9
I am an architect who loves the coliseum, it is a beautiful building but that does not mean it can or should not be torn down. A piece of architecture is but a fragment, a tread in our urban fabric. If the process of designing a new ball park would be allowed to correct some of the horrible mistakes the blazers( and their architects) made with the Rose Garden siting and building form, then removing the coliseum could be acceptable.
First, let the people of Portland, not Seattle decide the design process and future building, its siting, etc..
Second, the memorial status of the coliseum needs to be "transferred" in some appropriate fashion to the site and thus the new ball park.
First, let the people of Portland, not Seattle decide the design process and future building, its siting, etc..
Second, the memorial status of the coliseum needs to be "transferred" in some appropriate fashion to the site and thus the new ball park.
10
The Coliseum doesn't host any event that the Rose Garden or Convention Center (both better facilities and both within a block or two) couldn't host. I still don't understand why the raging big brained architects couldn't put their big brains together to come up with a way to still preserve part of the historical architecture and look/feel of the Coliseum while also turning it into a baseball park. I don't know, knock down two of the walls and half the bowl, and use the two existing perpendicular glass walls and part of the existing bowl as the backdrop behind homeplate, for example? Who knows. We've heard the architects throwing a tantrum about historical preservation and unique architecture for the past 18 months. Why the blanket assumption that retrofitting an under-utilized and pretty unnecessary facility into a new use has to automatically mean destroying any notion of beautiful architecture? This should be viewed as a unique and exciting opportunity for the Libby-leaning community.
12
As far as I know there are about 30 hockey games and 10 concerts then another 110 events that attract 10 people. Either figure out what those events are and how they justify keeping the place open or quit using the 150 events a year number.
I imagine the actual numbers behind the 150 events probably aren't going to justify the tens of millions a remodel of the MC will cost, which is probably why nobody who wants to keep the place around will post what those events are.
I imagine the actual numbers behind the 150 events probably aren't going to justify the tens of millions a remodel of the MC will cost, which is probably why nobody who wants to keep the place around will post what those events are.
13
First this place is loaded with naysayers, and then you break the link to Libby's response. I smell a conspiracy!
14
There was a reason the coliseum was replaced. It's an old, crappy building; I've spent enough time inside to know. And what a god-awful echo chamber for concerts.
15
We can just use all the profits the city made on PGE park, the Rose Garden, and the Convention Center to build that new Stadium.
If anyone ever studies sports economics you get to see that they are transfer schemes to the team owners.
If anyone ever studies sports economics you get to see that they are transfer schemes to the team owners.
17
I'll add my tenth or twelfth or 20th to those who don't see a reason to keep the MC. It's a duplicate facility that needs tens of millions of dollars in upgrades. I don't really want taxpayers to pay for a baseball stadium, but that makes more sense than having taxpayers pay for the MC.
As for Blazers, if they want to spend their own money, then let them control the process. That doesn't appear to be the case, however.
As for Blazers, if they want to spend their own money, then let them control the process. That doesn't appear to be the case, however.
18
Those advocating to tear this down and build a baseball stadium need to show ow much money the beavers will bring in, how much it will cost to tear down and build up. and does it pencil out. Show your math.
19
Let the architects keep the outside of the Coliseum, if they must, but remove the bowl inside (the single biggest obstacle to a successful redevelopment of the current building). There's nothing unique about a concrete bowl. That way, everyone gets part but not all of what they want. that's how politics is supposed to work, back in the days before hyper-partisan crap engulfed the system.
20
I believe the math has been done already. Can anyone show that Jumptown pencils out in favor of a baseball stadium?
21
Stu: OK. But where are the architects going to put the thing? Are any of them willing to pay for it?
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