Council Leans Toward Public Use of Memorial Coliseum

PORTLAND-It appears the city-owned Memorial Coliseum here will not become host to big box retailers. The Portland City Council recently declared its support for further evaluation of the proposed conversion of the money-losing 43-year-old entertainment venue into a major community athletic and recreation complex. The primary purpose of the work is to determine the economic feasibility of building and operating such a facility.

The Memorial Athletic and Recreation Complex was one of three public reuse options evaluated by an advisory group. The estimated $80-million project would create three levels within the structure, with swimming and hockey on the ground floor, a half-dozen basketball courts on the second floor and an area for things like indoor soccer, gymnastics and lacrosse on the third level. The other public reuse proposals were for a major modernization of Memorial Coliseum for its continued use as a spectator venue, and for converting of the building into a covered, open-air amphitheater. Both projects were estimated at between $10 million and $20 million.

As a private reuse alternative, billionaire Paul Allen’s Oregon Arena Corp., owner of the adjacent Rose Garden Arena and the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers, last spring offered up the idea of filling the structure with big box retailers and parking. OAC said the city could reap $90 million in taxes and rent over a 30 years period if it signed off on the $40-million project. It would also get OAC off the hook for the facility’s annual losses.