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When architect Gary Bastien received a call proposing the transformation of Veterans Memorial Coliseum into a gigantic soundstage, he thought the idea was farfetched. As principal of Tustin, Calif.-based Bastien and Associates, which designs film and television studios, Bastien says he knows that most such projects would not be feasible.

But then he heard about the unique nature of the coliseum: a large, oval, free span, concrete seating bowl supported by four 7-foot-diameter concrete columns.

A local team 鈥� with Bastien’s help 鈥� has a plan to convert the city-owned arena, used mostly for sporting events, into a media production center with three theaters and the largest self-contained, fully integrated urban soundstage in the world. The team says its proposed project would not only create jobs but also let the city avoid spending property tax dollars it planned to use to repair and upgrade the facility.

鈥淚 wasn’t familiar with this building at first, so I just wasn’t sure,鈥� Bastien said. 鈥淏ut then I found out about the height of the building, the structural support and the fact that there are no columns within the structure.

鈥淚’ve seen a lot of these types of projects and they don’t usually make sense. But the more I find out about this one the more it seems like an ideal structure.鈥�

The plan 鈥� led by Portland residents Tim Lawrence, founder of Digital Works Productions, and Rob Cornilles, founder of consulting firm Game Face 鈥� is to transform the coliseum’s interior into three soundstages totaling 51,000 square feet. The redevelopment would also include three theaters: a live-performance theater with 875 seats and two screening theaters with 250 seats each. Additionally, there would be four stories of office space, as well as some storage space.

The redevelopment would cost approximately $81 million. Federal tax credits would provide from $25 million to $50 million, and private, out-of-state investors would supply the rest.

Since an effort successfully prevented Veterans Memorial Coliseum from being torn down to make room for a new baseball stadium, the city has looked for a way to increase the economic viability of the arena, which is used for minor league hockey and concerts.

Those discussions culminated last month, when city officials pitched the idea of using $20 million in money to upgrade the facility and make repairs. Portland City Council will make a decision at its June 22 meeting.

鈥淲e’re asking the city to keep any money (it has) set aside for the coliseum upgrades and use it for something like affordable housing,鈥� Cornilles said. 鈥淲e have an idea here that not only creates jobs and fits into the city’s industry clusters, but can be completely supported without public dollars.鈥�

The city’s economic development plan is focused on six industry clusters. With popular shows like 鈥淧ortlandia鈥� and 鈥淟everage鈥� being filmed in town, the team believes that film and media should be a seventh industry targeted by the city, and this project should be part of that.

鈥淲e’re talking economic development here,鈥� Cornilles said. 鈥淭his building can go from a money pit to a revenue generator.鈥�

But the plan has not been received well by the city.

鈥淭he mayor is very supportive of film, television and other media production in Portland, and he is certainly interested in projects that would further development of those industries as an economic driver in our city,鈥� said Cary Clarke, the mayor’s arts and culture policy coordinator. 鈥淭he proposal for a media complex and production facility in Portland is an exciting one, but the Veterans Memorial Coliseum is headed in a different direction and not available as a location for this kind of development.鈥�

Clarke added that Mayor Sam Adams and the Portland Development Commission would be interested in discussing other possible locations for the proposed facility.

Cornilles and Lawrence said they’ve both had productive meetings with the mayor’s office and city councilors, as well as initial meetings with the PDC. They believe their idea should at least be considered.

鈥淭hey can’t make a truly educated decision without all the information,鈥� Cornilles said. 鈥淲e want a chance to present our idea to the city and the public so we can show them that this thing can work.鈥�