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Autzen Stadium
Autzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Big Ten Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium has undergone several expansions. The official seating capacity is presently 54,000 to 60,000 (with SRO); however, the actual attendance regularly exceeds that figure.
Prior to 1967, the Ducks' on-campus stadium was Hayward Field, which they shared with the track and field team. However, by the late 1950s, it had become apparent that Hayward Field was no longer suitable for the football team. It seated only 22,500 people, making it one of the smallest in the University Division (now Division I), and only 9,000 seats were available to the general public. While nearly every seat was protected from the elements, it had little else going for it. The stadium was in such poor condition that coaches deliberately kept prospective recruits from seeing it. As a result, the Ducks only played three home games per year on campus in most years; with the exception of the annual rivalry game with Oregon State, games that were likely to draw big crowds (against schools like Washington and USC) were played 110 miles (180 km) north in Portland at the larger Multnomah Stadium. With the recognition that the football team had outgrown the campus facility and with popular support to play the entire home schedule in Eugene for the first time in school history, Oregon athletic director Leo Harris led a campaign to build a new stadium on 90 acres (0.36 km2) on the north bank of the Williamette River that the school had acquired for the purpose in the 1950s on his recommendation.
School president Arthur Flemming was initially skeptical of the project, and asked Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to evaluate whether it was feasible to build a stadium on the north bank site, renovate Hayward Field, or build a new stadium on the Hayward footprint. The need for a new or expanded stadium had become acute with the implosion of the Pacific Coast Conference in 1959. Oregon had been left out of its successor, the Athletic Association of Western Universities (direct ancestor of the Pacific-12 Conference), and there was almost no chance of getting an invitation as long as the Ducks still played at Hayward Field. SOM concluded that the north bank site was the only feasible place to build a 40,000-seat stadium—thought to be the bare minimum to justify moving the entire home slate to Eugene. Hayward Field had not been built to code, which would have ruled out any possible expansion. Its footprint was too small for a new stadium, and in any case the surrounding streets could not handle larger crowds.
Designed by SOM, the stadium was built within an artificial landfill (over the refuse) to eliminate the need for multilevel ramps. As a result, construction took just nine months and cost approximately $2.3 million. $250,000 was contributed by the Autzen Foundation, headed by Thomas E. Autzen (class of 1943), son of Portland lumberman and philanthropist Thomas J. Autzen (1888–1958), for whom the stadium was named. The elder Autzen was ironically an alumnus of Oregon archrival Oregon State University.
In 1967, Oregon hosted Colorado in Autzen Stadium's inaugural game, a 17–13 loss before 27,500 on September 23. Four weeks later on October 21, 16,000 saw Oregon's first win in the new facility; the 31–6 victory over Idaho was the only home win of the season.
The stadium alternates with Oregon State's Reser Stadium as host of the annual rivalry game with the Beavers.
Autzen hosted the inaugural Pac-12 Conference Championship game on December 2, 2011, as the Pac-12 North champion Ducks defeated the Pac-12 South champion UCLA Bruins.
Opened with natural grass in 1967, the field was switched to AstroTurf and lights were added for its third season in 1969. After seven years, it was replaced with new AstroTurf in 1976. Sand-based OmniTurf was installed in 1984 and 1991, and infilled NeXturf in 2001. The NeXturf was found to be overly slick when wet and lasted only one season, and was transferred to an intramural field. FieldTurf made its debut in Autzen in 2002, and was replaced in 2010.
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Autzen Stadium
Autzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Big Ten Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium has undergone several expansions. The official seating capacity is presently 54,000 to 60,000 (with SRO); however, the actual attendance regularly exceeds that figure.
Prior to 1967, the Ducks' on-campus stadium was Hayward Field, which they shared with the track and field team. However, by the late 1950s, it had become apparent that Hayward Field was no longer suitable for the football team. It seated only 22,500 people, making it one of the smallest in the University Division (now Division I), and only 9,000 seats were available to the general public. While nearly every seat was protected from the elements, it had little else going for it. The stadium was in such poor condition that coaches deliberately kept prospective recruits from seeing it. As a result, the Ducks only played three home games per year on campus in most years; with the exception of the annual rivalry game with Oregon State, games that were likely to draw big crowds (against schools like Washington and USC) were played 110 miles (180 km) north in Portland at the larger Multnomah Stadium. With the recognition that the football team had outgrown the campus facility and with popular support to play the entire home schedule in Eugene for the first time in school history, Oregon athletic director Leo Harris led a campaign to build a new stadium on 90 acres (0.36 km2) on the north bank of the Williamette River that the school had acquired for the purpose in the 1950s on his recommendation.
School president Arthur Flemming was initially skeptical of the project, and asked Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to evaluate whether it was feasible to build a stadium on the north bank site, renovate Hayward Field, or build a new stadium on the Hayward footprint. The need for a new or expanded stadium had become acute with the implosion of the Pacific Coast Conference in 1959. Oregon had been left out of its successor, the Athletic Association of Western Universities (direct ancestor of the Pacific-12 Conference), and there was almost no chance of getting an invitation as long as the Ducks still played at Hayward Field. SOM concluded that the north bank site was the only feasible place to build a 40,000-seat stadium—thought to be the bare minimum to justify moving the entire home slate to Eugene. Hayward Field had not been built to code, which would have ruled out any possible expansion. Its footprint was too small for a new stadium, and in any case the surrounding streets could not handle larger crowds.
Designed by SOM, the stadium was built within an artificial landfill (over the refuse) to eliminate the need for multilevel ramps. As a result, construction took just nine months and cost approximately $2.3 million. $250,000 was contributed by the Autzen Foundation, headed by Thomas E. Autzen (class of 1943), son of Portland lumberman and philanthropist Thomas J. Autzen (1888–1958), for whom the stadium was named. The elder Autzen was ironically an alumnus of Oregon archrival Oregon State University.
In 1967, Oregon hosted Colorado in Autzen Stadium's inaugural game, a 17–13 loss before 27,500 on September 23. Four weeks later on October 21, 16,000 saw Oregon's first win in the new facility; the 31–6 victory over Idaho was the only home win of the season.
The stadium alternates with Oregon State's Reser Stadium as host of the annual rivalry game with the Beavers.
Autzen hosted the inaugural Pac-12 Conference Championship game on December 2, 2011, as the Pac-12 North champion Ducks defeated the Pac-12 South champion UCLA Bruins.
Opened with natural grass in 1967, the field was switched to AstroTurf and lights were added for its third season in 1969. After seven years, it was replaced with new AstroTurf in 1976. Sand-based OmniTurf was installed in 1984 and 1991, and infilled NeXturf in 2001. The NeXturf was found to be overly slick when wet and lasted only one season, and was transferred to an intramural field. FieldTurf made its debut in Autzen in 2002, and was replaced in 2010.