McArthur Court, the scene of many historic moments in Oregon high school basketball before hosting its final state tournament in 2010, is stirring back to life.
Pure Focus Sports Group, run by former boys high school coach Ryan Svenson, has organized the Return of the Mac, an event featuring 19 boys and girls games in the next two weekends at the hallowed University of Oregon arena. It tips off with eight games Saturday and resumes with three games Dec. 12 and eight games Dec. 13.
“I got word about a year ago that University of Oregon was renting out Mac Court again for the first time,” Svenson said. “They kind of had it on lockdown after they closed it.”
Other than recreational use, the event will be the first basketball games at the arena -- affectionately known as "The Pit" -- since Oregon stopped using it in Jan. 2011.
“For the most part, when you're on the floor or in the bleachers, it looks exactly the same,” Svenson said. “Other than they took out some scoreboards, it's basically the authentic thing it was when it closed down 15 years ago. It's a special place.”
Many Oregon high school fans recall the supercharged atmosphere at McArthur Court during the 6A finals in 2006 and 2007, when Lake Oswego's Kevin Love and South Medford's Kyle Singler dueled before packed houses. With that in mind, Svenson scheduled a game between Lake Oswego and South Medford for Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
“I remember being at those games,” Svenson said. “I remember it being a crazy scene. For me, those memories are pretty vivid.”
Saturday's slate also includes a 4 p.m. boys game between Pleasant Hill and Ridgeview, teams coached by former University of Oregon standouts Luke Jackson and Maarty Leunen, respectively.
“I handpicked the match-ups to have a connection to University of Oregon or Mac Court,” Svenson said. “For this first week, I was going for nostalgia.
“We're hearing from a lot of people that they're excited just to come and hang out at Mac Court for a few hours, watch basketball and look around, soak it back in. I think there's a lot of people – me, too – that have a lot of nostalgia for that building.”
Seating will be confined to the lower bowl because the second and third levels are blocked off. The university converted the walkways to the upper-level seating into offices. Still, the lower bowl can accommodate a crowd of 4,000 to 5,000, according to Svenson.
“We're expecting really good crowds on Saturday, and next weekend, too,” he said. “And hopefully, we'll continue to grow it moving forward.”
Return of the Mac schedule
Saturday, Dec. 6
10:00 – Marshfield vs. Churchill (girls)
11:30 – Marshfield vs. Churchill
1:00 – South Eugene vs. West Linn
2:30 – North Eugene vs. Newberg
4:00 – Pleasant Hill vs. Ridgeview
5:30 – Lake Oswego vs. South Medford
7:00 – Nelson vs. North Medford
8:30 – Thurston vs. Sheldon
Friday, Dec. 12
4:45 – Elmira vs. Siuslaw (girls)
6:15 – Elmira vs. Siuslaw
7:45 – La Salle Prep vs. Westview
Saturday, Dec. 13
10:00 – Trinity Lutheran vs. Creswell
11:30 – Bandon vs. Pleasant Hill (girls)
1:00 – Bandon vs. North Valley
2:30 – Crook County vs. Springfield (girls)
4:00 – Milwaukie vs. Gladstone
5:30 – Nelson vs. Caldera
7:00 – Portland Christian vs. Westside Christian
8:30 – South Salem vs. South Albany
jerryu@osaa.org
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