Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Ducks may be getting a new nest. It now looks to be a near certainty that before the month is out, the state will grant the University of Oregon the power to build a new basketball arena.

Ethan Lindsey reports that Eugene is considering what the construction will mean to the city.

The University's plans to build the $200 million arena involve public financing with state-backed bonds.

On Thursday, the budget committee signed off on the two legally-necessary bills.

Emily McLain is the student body president at the University. She acknowledges that the construction seems a foregone conclusion.

Emily McLain: “We are not opposing the arena. What we were opposing was taking on the bonding debt at this time.”

McLain says students remain concerned the University stonewalled their efforts to get more financial data about the deal. But now, the debate moves forward.

Emily McLain: “There are a lot of issues with construction, with safety, with foot traffic and with making sure we are not distracting from the student experience during all of these really big changes.”

McLain says students will now be asking questions of the Administration about what the school will do during construction, and afterwards, to protect the neighborhood.