What a bunch of procrastinators. On the last day of the city's deadline, Portlanders submitted a whopping 34 proposals for how to redevelop Memorial Coliseum.
The pitch that snagged headlines last Friday, of course, was the Trail Blazers' proposal to keep the WinterHawks in the MC and build a Nike Museum close by.
The 33 other ideas range from genuinely interesting to batshit crazy. Among the ideas:
- Memorial Coliseum = Rock gym of the future.
A rock gym: "The underside of the seating bowl can be built up as a rock climbing gym, which would attract a great crowd due to the unique, urban setting this gym would offer, the difficulty of climbing at such an angle, and the views provided from the glass encased structure."
Car Memorial Museum: "Our concept begins with the counterintuitive conversion of the Coliseum into a colossal robotic parking garage. And it ends mid-century with the launching of a museum that celebrates the bygone era of the automobile."
Miniature Working Replica of Downtown Portland: "Would replicate the City of Portland, including all Willamette Bridges (working draw bridges optional), MAX (operational),Trimet, surface streets, Rose Quarter, Union Station along with all other downtown buildings and features decided. OHSU could be included with working a Tram."
Though none of the concepts have the financial or experiential support of the Blazers' proposal, a couple of the ideas have some community support. The Memorial Athletic and Recreation Center made some waves a year ago when developer Doug Obletz first put forward the idea for a public athletic center in the space. Just a few weeks ago, nonprofit Vision into Action pulled together their idea ("Rose Quarter Community Crossroads") which would turn the MC into a food and craft market with space for a multi-cultural center.
The Rose Quarter Stakeholder group will winnow down the options at meetings later this month. In the mean time, check out the full list of submitted concepts here.
