Autzen Stadium

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Autzen Stadium

Location	2727 Leo Harris Parkway, Eugene, OR 97401
Coordinates	44°3′30″N 123°4′7″W / 44.05833°N 123.06861°W / 44.05833; -123.06861Coordinates: 44°3′30″N 123°4′7″W / 44.05833°N 123.06861°W / 44.05833; -123.06861
Broke ground	1967
Opened	September 23, 1967
Renovated	2002
Owner	University of Oregon
Operator	University of Oregon
Surface	FieldTurf
Construction cost	$2.5 million USD $80 million (2002 renovation)
Architect	Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Ellerbe Becket (2002 renovation)
Capacity	54,000
Tenants
University of Oregon Ducks (NCAA) (1967-present)

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 Pacific-10 Conference. Originally opened in 1967, the stadium has undergone several expansions. The official capacity is 54,000, though official attendance has exceeded capacity for every game since 2002.^[1]

[edit] History

Prior to 1967, the Ducks played on Hayward Field. Recognizing that the football team had outgrown that facility, Oregon athletic director Leo Harris led a campaign to build a new stadium on 90 acres (360,000 m²) that he had acquired for the purpose in the 1950s.^[2][3]

The stadium, designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, was built within an artificial crater to eliminate the need for multilevel ramps. As a result, construction took just nine months and cost approximately $2.5 million. $250,000 was contributed by the Autzen Foundation, headed by Portland lumberman Thomas J. Autzen, for whom the stadium was named.^[4] Thomas J. Autzen is actually an alumnus of Oregon State University. His donation to the University of Oregon is linked to his son's attendance at the school during the late 1930s and early 1940s.

On September 23, 1967, Oregon hosted Colorado in the first game played at Autzen Stadium, with Colorado defeating the Ducks 17–13. The Ducks won their first game in the new facility on October 21 of that year, defeating Idaho 31–6 in their only home victory of the season.

The stadium alternates with Reser Stadium at Oregon State University in hosting the Civil War game between Oregon and Oregon State.

[edit] Renovations

The original press box on the north side of Autzen Stadium was converted to luxury suites as part of a 1988 renovation

In 1988, a $2.3 million renovation built a new press box on the south side of the stadium and converted the original north side press box to luxury suites. The renovation was designed by architecture firm Ellerbe Becket.^[1]

In 1995, the field was named Rich Brooks Field, after the Ducks' coach from 1977 to 1994. Brooks led Oregon to its first outright Pac-10 championship, and its first Rose Bowl appearance in 37 years, in his last season. Brooks left Oregon after the 1994 season to become head coach of the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He is currently head coach at the University of Kentucky.

In 2002, a $90 million facelift and expansion added seating and luxury boxes to the south sideline, bringing the stadium seating capacity up to its current level.^[1].

In 2007, the large yellow "O" was added onto the south end of the stadium exterior when ESPN's "College Gameday" was on location. That season, "Gameday" originated two of its Saturday shows from Eugene, the first time the show has ever broadcast from the same school twice in one season.

In 2008, a new, 33-by-85-foot high-definition LED scoreboard and replay screen -- known as DuckVision or "Duckvision 2.0"-- was installed; it replaced the original video screen installed prior to the 1998-1999 football season. It is the largest video screen in the Pac-10.^[5]

[edit] Stadium records

The Ducks have a current streak of 59 straight sellouts at Autzen Stadium, dating back to the 1999 season. The highest attendance at Autzen was 59,379 on November 3, 2007, when the Ducks beat the Arizona State Sun Devils, 35–23. This stands as the largest crowd for a sporting event in the state of Oregon.

From 1997 to 2001, the Ducks had a 23-game home winning streak at Autzen Stadium. The streak ended with a 49–42 loss to Stanford.^[1]

[edit] Location and configuration

The stadium is located just north of the Willamette River, next to Alton Baker Park. Students typically walk to the stadium from the University of Oregon campus over the Autzen Footbridge, which passes over the Willamette, then through Alton Baker Park. The FieldTurf playing field is at an elevation of 420 feet (130 m) above sea level and is laid out in a non-traditional east-west orientation, slightly skewed so that players will not have the sun shining in their eyes in late fall.

[edit] Crowd noise

The Oregon Ducks take the field for the 2007 USC game, the second largest crowd ever at Autzen

Autzen is known for its crowd noise. On October 27, 2007, during a 24–17 defeat of the USC Trojans, a record crowd of 59,277 fans was recorded at 127.2 decibels. A similarly-loud 31–27 upset of third-ranked Michigan in 2003 prompted a Michigan Daily columnist to write^[6]

Michigan coach Lloyd Carr later said that Autzen Stadium was the loudest stadium he'd ever been in.^[7]

In 2006, a Sporting News columnist named Autzen the most intimidating college football stadium in the nation.^[8]

Lee Corso of ESPN College Gameday frequently says that; "Per person Autzen Stadium is the loudest stadium that I have ever been in my entire life!"^[9]

[edit] Other uses

Autzen Stadium is the largest sports arena in the state of Oregon. It hosts football camps and coaches' clinics, marching band competitions and musical concerts, including U2 and numerous performances by the Grateful Dead. State high-school football championship games were played at Autzen Stadium until 2006. Four Eugene high schools played their home football games in the stadium between 1969 and 2001. Autzen Stadium was also used as the location for the fictional Faber College football stadium in the 1978 movie National Lampoon's Animal House.

[edit] External links

• Sports-Venue.com - Autzen Stadium - Info and Photos
• Goducks.com - Official Autzen Stadium Information

[edit] References

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