I'm with you, Brian, but "This could be a pain in the butt that you find out is your rip-cord." is a rather unfortunate mixing of metaphors. :-)

So Brian's point is that anyone who disagrees with his taste in buildings is not just wrong, but must hate Portland. The more I read about him, the more I dislike him.

The MC does have architectural significance. It's a perfect example of what goes wrong when you listen to architects too much, and value their self-inflated opinion over those of everybody else.

I don't have any heartfelt feelings on the MC either way, but now people can't even have an opinion on what a building looks like? Seriously? Can I decide what music I prefer to listen to or is that Brian Libby's call now too?

I think Brian's point is that you can't knock out a structure that is such a physical and meaningful behemoth to erect a BASEBALL stadium. What kind of idea is that? Is this the culteral revolution here or what? Are we protecting cultural icons from the rootless individuals of the world now?

Bring a structural engineer along for the tour. That could be interesting.

the structure is fine, and Leonard's a tool.

It was ugly when I was going to concerts in it during the 80's. It's uglier and older now. The seating sucks, the bathrooms suck. I don't care if they replace it with a baseball stadium or a park.

Also I don't see the point in preserving old sports venues, they seem pretty unimportant. How many have been saved after new ones are built and their teams have left?

Why doesn't Brian take a tour with some electricians, plumbers, HVAC repairmen, and roofers so he might grasp how much is structurally wrong with the building and how much it would cost to renovate something that will likely serve as nothing more than a community center. A $30 million dollar community center.

wiring, plumbing and HVAC equipment and ductwork have nothing to do with the structural integrity of the building.

also, $30m would be for completely updating the MC to current "NBA" (ish) standards, no? from what i've read the electrical/plumbing/
HVAC upgrades would run $1-2M.

given decent management, that "community center" would most likely turn a profit (as it has in the recent past), which could pay for the utility upgrades.

@eric, there are some interesting numbers about the projected costs in this 2001 study. Keep in mind those are numbers from 8 years ago so costs are even higher. Undoubtedly they could scale down the "athletic and recreation" complex but it would still come with a significant price. Of course, so would building a new ballpark. Any way this turns out, there is going to be more than $1-2M spent on this site.

http://www.portlandonline.com/omf/index.cf…

read what i wrote, please. $1-2m on UTILITY upgrades. while i accept your point that more is needed, and it would add significant cost, a lot of those upgrades in the "new memorial coliseum" are absolutely unnecessary. skyboxes? what the fuck for? jumbotron? ditch it. that facility has proven its worth for second-tier events that don't need the "glamour" and size of it's ugly-ass neighbor. find me figures for maintenance upgrades, then we can have a reasonable discussion.

the MARC idea is dead, as far as i am concerned. this facility can work just fine in relatively the same state it's in. and turn enough of a profit to finance the necessary upgrades for monster truck pulls, HS playoffs, winterhawks, etc.

tearing it down is a stupid fucking idea.

I would rather we pool our funds and send Randy to Mexico for a little down time.

Anybody read Drudgereport today? Heh, heh.

If any building is to be blown up or torn down it should be the Rose Garden. It is a huge, ugly, cheap, tacky rat warren with lousy seating and shoddy construction:

A monstrous pile of Kansas City burrito architecture, completely without class and only marginally functional;

A rich man's toy compared to a superbly functional and money-making public memorial integrated into the fabric of our city's life for fifty years.

Jim Lee

Competitive and unique? hahhahahahaha

Keep Portland Weird.

You stole that phrase from Austin, TX. Congratulations.