Matthew Knight Arena

[SoCalDukeFan]

USC/Oregon are playing the first game in the new Matthew Knight Arena.

Matthew Knight, the son of the Nike founder, died in a scuba diving accident several years ago. Phil gave lots of dough. By all accounts the arena is beautiful.

However the floor and the lighting make it difficult to watch on TV. You can not see the mid court line and there seems to be a permanent glare.

Glad we played in Portland before this one opened.

Anyone else watch the game.

SoCal

[Bluedog]

Yeah, I'm watching it and it is quite difficult to see the center line. I think the conception of having a forest painted on the court was an interesting one, but I'm not sure it really worked in practice. It's almost a "better on the blueprint" idea. Not only is the middle line hard to see, but the changing colors on the floor is just distracting overall. The 3 point line is hard to see at certain angles. And the court is somewhat dark on the sides. Oregon is making the most of it, though, beating USC by 6. I like the size of the arena though, just over 12,000 seems like the sweetspot. And the facilities/concourse of the arena are supposed to be superb.

[hurleyfor3]

I like it. It reminds me of hiking in Oregon. :) Which reminds me, I haven't been in a few years. However, I have no earthly idea what that "TTATT" or whatever it says is supposed to mean.

Maybe they should use a big picture of Multnomah Falls (http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f19/frequentfreak/waterfalls/multnomah_1.jpg) as the centerline if people have trouble seeing it. (Yes, I took that picture.)

[ajgoodfella7]

I've learned over the years to never judge anything using Fox Sports cameras which are still as bad as it gets, in my opinion. The court definitely has an NBA-court-type glare on it though when those auxiliary scoreboards are lit up. Overall though, I love the look of it. I read a few months ago online that the court was actually designed by Tinker Hatfield, who is a longtime Nike designer and the mastermind behind Michael Jordan's shoe-line, FYI.

[Bluedog]

However, I have no earthly idea what that "TTATT" or whatever it says is supposed to mean.

It supposed to read "MATT" in a stylized fashion - a la Matthew Knight Arena. Named for Phil Knight's son who died in a scuba diving accident. But the M and TT are identical in that script, so it can easily be misread.

[uh_no]

I've learned over the years to never judge anything using Fox Sports cameras which are still as bad as it gets, in my opinion.

Isn't that the truth? You really have to wait until CBS or even better ESPN get a crack at it. I imagine it must be awfully tricky to get the aperture right for the court with the changing light conditions. I'm sure the networks will figure it out given time. It's just something they're not used to.

[DukeBlueHeart4]

I like it. It reminds me of hiking in Oregon. :) Which reminds me, I haven't been in a few years. However, I have no earthly idea what that "TTATT" or whatever it says is supposed to mean.

Maybe they should use a big picture of Multnomah Falls (http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f19/frequentfreak/waterfalls/multnomah_1.jpg) as the centerline if people have trouble seeing it. (Yes, I took that picture.)

That picture is gorgeous, as opposed to the court, which is not at all to my ocular tastes.

[theAlaskanBear]

I really like the court. If they need to, they can always change the lines to make them more visible. I think it would make for a great home court. When a player shoots an airball or something the crowd can chant "LOST in THE WOOOoooods."

[Ultrarunner]

That picture is gorgeous, as opposed to the court, which is not at all to my ocular tastes.

I had a chance to see the court in person a couple of weeks ago when I was visting a friend who is one of the engineers on the project. The court is much better in person than what I saw on television. The sight lines in the place are just terrific from literally the worst seat in the house. The glare from the court wasn't noticeable at all while I was there.

They've done a really nice job of keeping the fans right on top of the court and the arena has been designed to loud. The facilities below are also top notch - they'll get some recruits that will want to play in that building. The locker rooms are terrifc as are the practice facilities, weight room, the athlete nutrition area and therapy center.

Though Phil Knight's personal suite was not open (sadly), I did get to see the donor areas. They are taking very good care of the donors. The upper end has cater food and an impressive meeting area with a private entrance while the middle level donors get very comfortable facitlities but somewhat more mundane food and beverage choices.

And, to cap it off, we watched the next-to-last game in Mac Court as the Ducks took on Arizona.

My friend was laughing at me because knows I'm a construction nerd and a basketball junkie - and he knew hit the sweet spot on a slightly belated Christmas present. :D