Jay, here.

Bill Harbaugh wants a piece of the Duck. And it looks like he’s putting up a little bit more of a fight than the Houston Cougar.

Yesterday, we linked to a column by Steve Duin in The Oregonian (UO Professor: Frohnmayer Needs To Build The Damn Arena, Then Retire) detailing the University of Oregon Behavioral and Experimental Economics Professor’s challenges against the administration’s supposed “culture of secrecy” in regards to the plans for the new basketball arena.

I’m not even going to attempt to explain, or even summarize, all of the issues involved in this drama worthy of the WWE. And I’m not trying to take sides here, either. But I will tell you this. While neither side looks like the good guy, one side is looking is like a bad guy. I’ll let you be the judge of that in this grudge match.

But as a follow-up to his column, Duin posted this on his blog yesterday:

“UO is only able to show such disdain for public records law because Attorney General Hardy Myers and the Department of Justice let them get away with it.”

Well, looks like that rang the ringside bell because Oregon’s very own version of Judge Mills Lane (Attorney General “I Ain’t Giving You A Laurel or A Hardy Handshake” Myers) wants a piece of this RAW WAR, too.

According to the Oregon Daily Emerald, Harbaugh received a letter from the State of Oregon’s Department of Justice about an hour after Duin posted his blog entry. Now the State is looking into Harbaugh’s allegations against the University, specifically the University of Oregon’s General Counsel Melinda Grier.

What does this all mean?

Much like a WWE wrestling match, I think the outcome has already been determined. None of this is going to stop the new basketball arena from being built.

But while the WWE wrestling matches are “fake” in outcome, the action is very much real (Right, Sea Bass?). And somebody, if not everybody, is going to get bloody.

They say blood is thicker than water. I just wish that the Donald Duck family looked more like a Disney family and less like the Vince McMahon family.

In case you missed it, here are some of the “RBAR” (Really Big Arena Report) highlights.

If you want to know how much the new arena might cost you, skip to page 7 (repeated on page 53) in the report. Now, these are potential costs. And even though they are not set in stone, I’m thinking that most of you will be wishing that not a stone is touched at Mac Court for quite some time.

You can find the specifics in the report. But here is a breakdown of the general/average numbers:

Now, are you ready for the “Aggressive” model?

What do you think? Some of these go higher. Some of these go lower. And some stay the same. Scim the report if you get a chance for more details.

A couple of things popped out with a quick glance:

- Portland corporations didn’t seem that interested in most of the seating concepts.

- The demographics for the Eugene/Springfield area ranked pretty low across the board.

Now, I’m going to go and stock up on Kleenex for all the nose bleeds I anticipate having in a couple of years.

JJ

Oregon Media Services
December 17, 2007

The University of Oregon has received a copy of the 200-page Conventions, Sports & Leisure International (CSL) feasibility assessment for the proposed arena. The report details the independent, third-party consultant’s findings on revenue projections for the new University of Oregon sports arena and includes the following key findings:

• CSL concluded that the lack of significant competition from other local facilities bodes well for the arena’s market potential.

• CSL estimates a new UO arena will generate annual incremental net revenues of approximately $9.6 million to $15.6 million (in 2010 dollars, adjusted for inflation).

- These funds, together with unrestricted annual contributions as necessary, should provide the revenue to pay the estimated $11.25 million annual debt payment for the bonds UO will use to fund the arena without a negative impact on the UO Athletic Department’s ability to be self-supporting.

- UO previously estimated net revenues of approximately $8 million to $14 million in the first year of operations.

• Based on the Eugene-Springfield market and experiences at other similarly sized facilities in similar markets, CSL estimated the new arena could host between 21 and 54 non-university events a year.

• The CSL report is based on multiple sources of information including market research, CSL’s knowledge of the collegiate sports and entertainment industries, and data provided by university officials.

• CSL compared the UO to other college and university arenas in the Pac-10 and nationally to estimate the costs to operate the arena and to gauge its likely success.

• CSL suggested various pricing scenarios for tickets, annual contributions and one-time construction fees based on focus groups, comprehensive market surveys and sports and entertainment industry expertise.

The CSL feasibility assessment is available at:
http://pmr.uoregon.edu/current-uo-news/archive/media-advisory-file-2007/UO-Arena-%20Report.pdf