Buzzer sounds for historic Mac Court

By Elissa Harrington, Fisher News Published: Mar 6, 2010 at 7:53 PM PST Last Updated: Mar 7, 2010 at 11:06 AM PST
Buzzer sounds for historic Mac Court »Play Video
A file photo of the packed stands, and camaraderie, at University of Oregon's retiring basketball court.

EUGENE, Ore. – For 83 years basketball has been played on this University of Oregon court. Saturday’s game against Washington State marked the final moments of the last conference game, and the last full season, at Mac Court.

The legacy of University of Oregon's basketball court – also dubbed McArthur Court and The Pit – came to a close Saturday. University of Oregon's new Matt Knight Arena will take its place.

Here we take a look back at the place where everyone from Elvis to future Presidents took center stage.

Sharing the memories
Bob Wren played basketball for the Ducks back in the 1940s and said he'll never forget the first time he walked into "The Pit."

"It was just so gigantic when I first saw it," said Wren. "I couldn't believe it."

His daughter Kim Evans is with the University of Oregon Alumni Association.

"I went to the 1949 game against UCLA," she said. "At that time UCLA was No. 1 in the country. And the energy and the feeling that you get, it still gives me goosebumps – because we beat them."

  • SHARE YOUR MAC COURT MEMORIES: Post a comment or post photos
  • Watch this YouNews video of the second-to-last game played there:

Whether they call it McArthur Court, Mac Court or The Pit, anyone who's been inside - from future presidents to the King himself - knows this arena is something special.

Built in 1926 and paid for by the student body of the University of Oregon, Mac Court has been the home to some of the most classic Ducks games by teams dubbed the Kamikaze Kids and the Tall Firs.



Mac Court has hosted some of the town's most noteworthy events, like speeches by then-presidential contenders Bill Clinton in 1992 and Barack Obama in 2008.

Elvis, the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan have performed here, and the 9,000 fans who packed the place to the rafters consistently rocked the house, giving Mac Court a reputation as one of the toughest places to play in the nation.

Will it rise again?
Evans hopes the University finds a way to reuse the arena. That's exactly what UO administrators are trying to do.

"We're into our second year of research on that location," said Chris Ramey, associate vice president for campus planning.

Ramey said there are three options for The Pit's future.    

  • Re-use it
  • Re-use part of it as, say, classroom space
  • Demolish Mac Court and build something new.

"We are so scarce on resources we simply can't afford to close it up and throw moth balls in there and look at it every once in a while," he said. "We really have to make it useful for us."

Ramey said they'll know more about their next step this June.