HOLDEN GIVES MU BASKETBALL NEW ARENA WITH STROKE OF PEN

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden signed legislation Thursday authorizing $35 million in state bonds for a new basketball arena at the University of Missouri at Columbia.

But Holden approved the bonds with a challenge that the university also raise $1 billion in private donations for academics. University officials said they would do so.

"I am committed to helping to make the University of Missouri system one of the best in the nation," Holden said shortly before signing the legislation in front of an artist's sketch of the arena.

The state bonds would go toward a $75 million, 16,000-seat arena for Missouri Tiger basketball teams. Repayment of the bonds, targeted to begin July 2004, could cost the state about $60 million with interest included, according to estimates by legislative staff.

The bonds were prompted by a verbal pledge for a $25 million donation that university officials said might have disappeared if the state did not act this year.

Sources told The Associated Press that the donor -- who remains officially unnamed by the university -- is Columbia businessman Bill Laurie, the husband of Wal-Mart heir Nancy Walton Laurie and the owner of the St. Louis Blues hockey team.

Supporters of the arena took turns thanking the donor, without mentioning his name, during Thursday's bill signing. University officials said later that they expect to have a written agreement with the donor within a few weeks but don't need the money immediately.

Columbia campus Chancellor Richard Wallace said the basketball arena would not only enhance the school's athletic program, but also help in the $1 billion fund-raising campaign for academics. He called the arena "a window, a front porch to the institution."

Construction on the arena is estimated to begin as soon as January 2003 with completion expected in 2005, Wallace said.

University system President Manuel Pacheco said the fund-raising drive would span 10 years.

"The governor's challenge to us is a reasonable one, although it is a challenge," Pacheco said.

Holden initially had expressed reservations about the university arena, in part because of the state's tight finances. And he had declined to say publicly whether he would sign the bill.

Linking the arena to academic advances was important to his support, Holden said.

"I pushed very hard for the $1 billion commitment on funding for academics," Holden told reporters. "And if the athletic facility ... helps ignite the enthusiasm around the state of Missouri for that to occur, then I think it's a very welcome addition to the program."

Others, including some Columbia area lawmakers, insist the arena is a wasteful luxury that conflicts with Holden's own orders for the university to cut expenses because of a slim state budget.

"In a time of financial crisis, which we really do have with the state, it's an inappropriate use of taxpayer money to fund an athletic arena," said Rep. Tim Harlan, D-Columbia.