Summer 2007

Thomason, Autzen Aid Arena Efforts with $1 Million Gift

Couple Steps Forward for New Basketball Facility

The momentum for a new basketball arena at the University of Oregon received a major boost with the April 25 announcement that Scott Thomason and his wife, Deborah Autzen, have pledged $1 million to the project.

The new arena would replace eighty-year-old McArthur Court and would house the men’s and women’s basketball teams and possibly the wrestling and volleyball teams. It would be funded entirely through private contributions and self-financed bonds.

Thomason, a 1976 UO business graduate, was the founder and former chief executive officer of Thomason Auto Group in Portland before selling the business in 1998. He has since purchased and is currently CEO of the Barber Auto Group in Northern California.

Deborah Autzen is the granddaughter of the late Thomas J. Autzen, after whom Autzen Stadium was named when he donated money for construction of the football facility in the mid 1960s.

“It is my belief that we definitely are in need of a new arena, and it is time that we move forward,” Thomason said. “I want to help Pat [Kilkenny, UO director of athletics] and the university in any way that I can. By giving this gift, hopefully many others will follow.”

Thomason made a $1 million gift to the Lundquist College of Business in 1998.

“It has been my contention for some time that for this project to become a reality, many individuals would need to step forward and contribute their energies and resources,” Kilkenny said. “Scott and Debbie have been longtime supporters of this university throughout a number of different avenues, and this is just one more example of their generosity. It is my hope this might provide the spark and generate the enthusiasm necessary to carry this project closer to completion.”

The new arena is to be built on the site of the old Williams Bakery on the east edge of campus.