Rose Garden Arena
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The Rose Garden Arena is the main sports arena in Portland, Oregon, USA and is currently managed by Global Spectrum, a company which manages sports facilities (and which also owns several sports franchises). The arena, which opened on October 12, 1995 with a ceremony to honor Blazers' fans and the construction workers who built it, was originally capable of seating 20,340 spectators for NBA basketball. Its capacity has sinced been reduced to 19,980 by subsequent modifications. At the time of its construction, the arena was considered a state-of-the-art facility; newer facilties have since surpassed the Rose Garden in amenities. The first regular season game to be played at the Rose Garden was the Trail Blazers hosting the then-Vancouver Grizzlies on November 3, 1995.
Ground was broken in 1993 by Paul Allen, the owner of the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team, who are the arena's primary tenant. The name was chosen both to reflect the Portland's well-known status as the Rose City, and also in reference to the famous Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden arenas in Boston and New York City, respectively. The arena was initially owned by the Oregon Arena Corporation, a private corporation whose sole shareholder was Allen. Its construction was funded in part by a $155 million loan from a consortium of lenders who included TIAA-CREF, Prudential Insurance, and Farmers Insurance.
The Rose Garden was designed by the architectural firm Ellerbe Becket of Kansas City.
The financing of the Rose Garden construction was widely hailed at the time of a good example of public-private partnership: most of the costs were borne by Allen rather than by taxpayers. The primary public contribution to the project was the transfer of the underlying land. The City of Portland owns the adjacent Memorial Coliseum and parking garages, but all are managed by the same group managing the Rose Garden. (The tract of land containing both arenas; as well as adjacent businesses and parking structures, is known as the Rose Quarter). This deal occurred in an era in which it was common for team owners to demand public financing of new arenas and stadiums (using the threat of moving the sports franchise as leverage).
The final price tag for the Rose Garden, office building, entertainment complex, three new garages and renovation to Memorial Coliseum was $262 million.
Tri-Met's Rose Quarter TC MAX stations and several bus lines serve the Rose Garden. The Rose Garden is located on the eastbanks of the Willamette River in the Lloyd District across from Downtown. Nearby landmarks include the Steel Bridge, the Oregon Convention Center, and the Eastbank Esplanade.
Events
The arena's current primary tenant is the Portland TrailBlazers of the NBA. It is also home to the junior hockey team Portland Winter Hawks of the WHL and the Portland Lumberjax, an NLL expansion team that began play in January, 2006. Both the Trail Blazers and Winter Hawks played in the Memorial Coliseum and moved to the Rose Garden when it was completed in 1995. However, the Rose Garden and the Memorial Coliseum split Winter Hawks home games during the season.
The arena was also built to accommodate a NHL franchise and there has been speculation over the years about Portland landing a team. However, this has not yet occurred.
In 1997, an AFL team landed in Portland from Memphis as the Portland Forest Dragons. Two seasons later, they relocated to Oklahoma City.
The Rose Garden did host the 2000 WNBA expansion team Portland Fire. But due to low attendance and a bleak financial outlook, the team folded in 2002.
The Rose Garden and Portland Winter Hawks hold the Western Hockey League's record for single game attendance with a crowd of 19,103 on March 15, 1997. The Winter Hawks tied the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds, 6-6.
Other Events
The venue hosted several WWE events, a rarity in Oregon, including WWE Unforgiven in 2004 and a RAW show in Fall 2005. Smackdown! came to Portland for the first time in late-May 2006.
In the Winter of 2005, the Rose Garden hosted the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
In 2004, Portland, Oregon was selected as one of 5 cities in the U.S. to host the Dew Action Sports Tour, a new extreme sports francise to start in 2005. Titled the Vans Invitational, the event was held at the Rose Quarter from August 17-21. The Rose Garden hosted BMX: Dirt and Freestyle Motocross. The Dew Action Sports will return to Portland for year 2.
A number of rock concerts have also occurred at the venue. The first concert held in the Rose Garden was David Bowie with Nine Inch Nails. In November 2005 alone, the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney both played the arena respectively.
In 2009, the Rose Garden will host first and second-round games of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. It will be the first time NCAA men's tournament games will be played in the state of Oregon since 1983.
The arena remains a popular venue for concerts, ice shows, and other large events.
Oregon Arena Corporation Bankruptcy
Claiming the local economy was responsible for reduced revenues which made it unable to make payments on that loan, the Oregon Arena Corporation filed for bankruptcy on 2004-02-27. The bankruptcy proceedings began 2004-09-09.
Several factors contributed to the bankruptcy. The initial loan was made on terms unfavorable to Oregon Arena Corporation (above-market interest coupled with no ability to make early repayment). The 2003-05-01 opening of the Clark County Amphitheater in nearby Vancouver, Washington provided the Rose Garden with significant competition as a concert venue. The Portland Trail Blazers (also owned by Allen) were not drawing as well due to negative press (a number of Blazers ran afoul of the law and the team was derided as the "Jail Blazers" in the media) and a decline in quality of play. Many of the corporations leasing skyboxes in the arena (a primary source of revenue) declined to renew leases; in some cases due to a slumping economy; in other cases due to the team's negative reputation.
The bankrupty filing was widely criticized in the local media and elsewhere. Allen, a billionaire, clearly had sufficient personal assets to repay the loan in full. As the Oregon Arena Corporation was a separate legal entity, Allen had no legal responsibility to do so; however the bankruptcy filing was perceived as an example of a wealthy individual taking advantage of "loopholes" in the law (the separate legal status of OAC) to get out from under a debt he was simply unwilling to pay. However, it should be noted that the terms of the loan specifically prevented early repayment; and the creditors were unwilling to waive the terms of that agreement.
As a result of the banktruptcy proceedings, the Oregon Arena Corporation was dissolved; and their assets (primarily the Rose Quarter and the attached structures) became the property of the lenders. The lenders formed Portland Arena Management and hired Global Spectrum to operate the arena. Portland Arena Management has since invested millions of dollars into refurbishing the arena.
External links
| Current arenas in the National Basketball Association | ||
| Eastern Conference | Western Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Centre | AmericanAirlines Arena | Bradley Center | Charlotte Bobcats Arena | Conseco Fieldhouse | Continental Airlines Arena | Madison Square Garden | Palace of Auburn Hills | Philips Arena | Quicken Loans Arena | TD Banknorth Garden | TD Waterhouse Centre | United Center | Verizon Center | Wachovia Center | American Airlines Center | ARCO Arena | AT&T Center | Delta Center | FedExForum | Ford Center | KeyArena | New Orleans Arena | Oakland Arena | Pepsi Center | Rose Garden | Staples Center | Target Center | Toyota Center | US Airways Center | |
| Current arenas in the Western Hockey League | ||
| Eastern Conference | Western Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| Art Hauser Centre | Brandt Centre | Centennial Civic Centre | Cranbrook Recreational Complex | Credit Union Centre | ENMAX Centre | ENMAX Centrium | Keystone Centre | Medicine Hat Arena | Moose Jaw Civic Centre | Pengrowth Saddledome | CN Centre | Everett Events Center | Interior Savings Centre | KeyArena | Memorial Coliseum | Pacific Coliseum | Prospera Centre | Prospera Place | Rose Garden Arena | Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena | Toyota Center | |
| Current arenas in the National Lacrosse League |
| Air Canada Centre | Blue Cross Arena | Glendale Arena | HP Pavilion | HSBC Arena | Pengrowth Saddledome | Pepsi Center | Rexall Place | Rose Garden Arena | Sears Centre | Wachovia Center | Xcel Energy Center |
| Notable Portland, Oregon architecture Skyscrapers: Wells Fargo Center | U.S. Bancorp Tower | KOIN Center | PacWest Center | Fox Tower | Standard Insurance Center | Congress Center | Hatfield U.S. Courthouse | ODS Tower | 1000 Broadway | Union Bank of California Tower | Lloyd Center Tower Other buildings: Meier & Frank Building | Benson Hotel | Commonwealth (Equitable) Building | Portland Public Service Building | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall | Oregon Convention Center | Union Station | Pittock Mansion | Pioneer Courthouse Stadiums: Rose Garden Arena | Memorial Coliseum | PGE Park |
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