A new ball game.

Byline: The Register-Guard

A bit of advice to people who are closely following the "musical hospitals" drama in Eugene-Springfield: Place no bets on any outcome until you know what developer John Musumeci intends to do.

Musumeci, or more precisely, Arlie & Co., last Wednesday completely scrambled the dynamics of negotiations between Triad Hospitals, Inc., and the Eugene Water & Electric Board. Texas-based Triad, majority owner of McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield, has offered EWEB $24.8 million for the utility's 22.5 acres of riverfront property. Triad wants to build a five-story hospital worth at least $85 million there.

Out of the blue comes Arlie with an ambitious proposal straight from the pages of the Eugene Downtown Plan to redevelop the EWEB site for a pedestrian-friendly mix of commercial, residential and office uses. Arlie officials stressed that their backup offer should take a back seat to Triad's but is serious if the Triad deal falls apart.

Consider the implications of this January surprise on the major players: the city of Eugene, EWEB and Triad. All are under intense pressure to quickly decide whether it makes sense for EWEB to sell its riverfront property to Triad and relocate its headquarters and operations facilities elsewhere.

Of the three principals, EWEB has been in the toughest spot. The utility has vowed to hold its ratepayers harmless in any sale of its existing property - as well it should. There is no immediate need for EWEB to move and sell the farm.

But the Eugene City Council, hoping to atone for its role in PeaceHealth's decision to build a new hospital in Springfield, has pulled out all the stops to lure a full-service hospital to a centrally located site south of the river. That goal got new life when PeaceHealth's move into McKenzie-Willamette's service area forced Triad to seek greener pastures.

After an exhaustive and frustrating search for a Eugene location, Triad concluded EWEB's riverfront property was its top choice. Eugene city officials were ecstatic and leaned hard on EWEB to play ball.

EWEB decided to be a good sport and civic partner by agreeing to study whether it could dramatically accelerate its timetable for relocating. A 2002 study commissioned by the utility estimated that it would cost $38.5 million to move, not including the roughly $12 million EWEB still owes on its 19-year-old administration building. But after two appraisals concluded that EWEB's current site was worth between $22 million and $24.6 million, some EWEB commissioners got cold feet and tried to kill the deal.

Pressure mounted on EWEB. Ratepayers started showing up at board meetings opposing the sale to Triad. The University of Oregon offered a lot more money per acre to purchase the Williams' Bakery site than Triad was offering EWEB.

Jack Roberts, executive director of the Lane Metro Partnership, argued that Triad's $24.8 million offer was a reasonable bird in the hand. Prospects were slim that there were willing buyers who would pay more.

Meanwhile, understandably eager to get the party started, Triad tried to goose the process along with a $500,000 no-strings-attached loan to the city of Eugene for design work on a key access road.

Just as EWEB commissioners' heads were about to explode, Arlie parachuted into the picture. Boom, as John Madden would say, goes the pressure on EWEB to accept a Triad offer that doesn't cover EWEB's costs.

Suddenly, the focus shifts. The public, largely silent on the Triad deal to date, might be roused to participate now that a tangible alternative to a hospital has emerged for the riverfront property. Eugene city officials aren't faced with abject failure if the Triad deal falls through. The initial buzz for the Arlie proposal was definitely positive.

Triad, which had sent signals that $24.8 million was the absolute maximum it was prepared to pay, may be motivated to reconsider. The business opportunity presented by a new Eugene hospital in a prime riverfront location looks like it's becoming more valuable.