New Univ. Of Oregon Arena Named After Phil Knight's Late Son
The new 12,500-seat Univ. of Oregon (UO) basketball arena will be named Matthew Knight Arena after Nike Chair Phil Knight's son, who "died four years ago at age 34," according to Susan Palmer of the Eugene REGISTER-GUARD. UO AD Dave Frohnmayer announced the name of the $227M arena before the start of the Pape Jam basketball doubleheader Saturday. During a "rare news conference appearance," Phil Knight said that his son, "while not an extraordinary achiever, had found a real niche in charity work in the last years of his life." Knight added that Matthew "died in a diving accident in El Salvador where he was doing fundraising work" for an UO-tied orphanage. Frohnmayer announced that excavation on the arena will begin this week, while an "official groundbreaking ceremony will come in mid-January with completion in time for the start of official Pac-10 Conference play in 2011." A $100M donation to UO in '07 by Knight and his wife, Penny, put the "languishing project back on track" (Eugene REGISTER-GUARD, 12/14). Knight said of his son, "He loved Oregon sports. And indeed in the last five years of his life, he went to more Oregon games than I did, which is saying a lot. I know that he would look on this with particular pride" (OREGONLIVE.com, 12/13). Knight added that the "idea of naming the arena for Matthew had been a possibility for the past two years" (DAILYEMERALD.com, 12/13).
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Univ. Of Oregon's New 12,500-Seat Basketball Arena To Be Named After
Matthew Knight, Who Died Four Years Ago In A Diving Accident In El Salvador |
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