matt.

This post is about a week late, but it is still exciting.  On January 13^th the Matthew Knight Arena opened in Eugene, Oregon and became the new home of the University of Oregon Ducks basketball teams.  It replaced McArthur Court; also know as Mac Court, which promoted the theme for the opening ceremonies—Mac to Matt. 

            The main donor on the project was Phil Knight, co-founder and chairman of Nike, Inc.  He is also a graduate of the UO.  The arena is named for his son who died in a scuba diving accident at the age of 34. 

            Ellerbe Beckett designed the arena.  Matt holds 13,000 fans, features new concession stands, wider walkways, and more bathrooms than the past court.  The project cost approximately $227 million, making it the most expensive college arena. 

            I’m not really a basketball fan, but was intrigued by the unique design on the court and the logo of the arena. 

            The court features the theme “Deep in the Woods” and has tall firs encompassing the center court.  There has been some debate because of the glare off the court and the difficulty seeing the centerline.  This one-of-a-kind court was developed by Tinker Hatfield to create “the most iconic television presence possible for UO.”  It is named for Pat Kilkenny, the school’s former athletic director.

all photos above in this blog are by Brian Libby and the website: http://chatterbox.typepad.com/portlandarchitecture/2011/01/a-first-visit-to-matthew-knight-arena.html

Here are some facts about the floor from goducks.com.

Materials

• Floor is a Connor Sports Flooring Quicklock Portable Floor (The same surface used for NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships)

• Floor was manufactured in the upper peninsula of Michigan in the town of Amasa, Mich.

• Wood used for the floor was donated by Gonyea Family/Timber Products Co., of Eugene/Springfield

• Floor is 6,944 square feet of Northern Hard Maple that is from an FSC Certified Forest

• Fabrication of Raw Floor took one week to complete

• There are 225 interlocking panels weighing approximately 45,000 total pounds

Graphics

• Graphics were completed by United Services based in Idaho Falls, Idaho

• Graphics took 2,500 man-hours to complete

• Almost 2 miles of stencil material was utilized for the completion of the graphics

• More stencil material was used on this floor then used for the other 30 floors Connor Sports Flooring completed this year

            The arena logo follows UO’s modern design.  It was made to replicate a Japanese torii gate, which symbolizes an entrance to a sacred place.  The top is arched to mimic Matthew Knight’s grin.  It is placed slightly under the “O” and seems to cradle it.  I just really enjoyed listening and watching the opening.

For more information, visit mactomatt.net.