Autzen Stadium

Autzen Stadium
Location	2727 Leo Harris Parkway Eugene, Oregon 97401
Broke ground	1966
Opened	September 23, 1967
Renovated	2002
Expanded	2002
Owner	University of Oregon
Operator	University of Oregon
Surface	FieldTurf – (2002–present) NexTurf – (2001) Omni Turf – (1984–2000) AstroTurf – (1969–1983) Natural grass – (1967–1968)
Construction cost	US$2.5 million $80 million (2002 renovation)
Architect	Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Ellerbe Becket (2002 renovation)
Tenants	University of Oregon Ducks – (NCAA) (1967–present)
Capacity	54,000 (2002–present) 41,698 (1988–2001) 40,000 (1967–1987)

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-12 Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium has undergone several expansions. The official capacity is 54,000, although attendance is routinely around 59,000 and has exceeded capacity for every game since the most recent expansion in 2002.

History

Prior to 1967, the Ducks typically played only three games a year on campus at Hayward Field; the higher-attended games (against schools like Washington and USC) were played 110 miles 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 bring all the home games to Eugene, Oregon athletic director Leo Harris led a campaign to build a new stadium on a 90 acre site that the school had acquired for the purpose in the 1950s on his recommendation.

The stadium, designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, 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 $2.5 million. $250,000 was contributed by the Autzen Foundation, headed by the son of Portland lumberman and philanthropist Thomas J. Autzen, for whom the stadium was named. Ironically, Thomas J. Autzen is actually an alumnus of Oregon State University. The foundation's donation to the University of Oregon was 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, a 17–13 loss. Oregon won their first game in the new facility on October 21 over Idaho 31–6 in their only home victory of the season. The facility opened with a natural grass playing field; artificial turf was installed for its third season in 1969.

The stadium alternates with Reser Stadium at Oregon State as host of the Civil War, the annual rivalry game.

Autzen hosted the inaugural Pac-12 Conference Championship game on December 2nd, 2011 as the Pac-12 North champion Ducks took on the Pac-12 South champion UCLA Bruins.

Renovations

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

In 1981, a $650,000 meeting room complex, the Donald Barker Stadium Club, was constructed on the east rim above the end zone. The addition gave the stadium its first meeting facilities.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 third largest video screen in the Pac-12.

In 2010, the field was replaced with new FieldTurf that featured the new Pac-10 logo (even before the logo was officially revealed to the public). During the process, the crown was removed to make the field flat. In addition, new paneling was added to the walls surrounding the field.

Stadium records

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

The Ducks have a current streak of 79 straight sellouts at Autzen Stadium, dating back to the 1999 season. The highest attendance at Autzen was 60,055 on October 15, 2011, when the Ducks beat the Arizona State Sun Devils, 41-27. 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. In 2011, the USC Trojans defeated the Ducks 38-35 ending a 21-game home winning streak as the Trojans handed Chip Kelly his first loss at Autzen as Oregon's head coach.

		Autzen Stadium Attendance Records
		Opponent	Attendance	Date	Note
1		Arizona State	60,055	October 15, 2011
2		Washington	60,017	November 6, 2010
3		Arizona	59,990	November 26, 2010
4		USC	59,933	November 19, 2011
5		Stanford	59,818	October 2, 2010
6		Oregon State	59,597	December 3, 2009
7		USC	59,592	October 31, 2009
8		Arizona State	59,379	November 3, 2007
9		UCLA	59,277	October 21, 2010
10		USC	59,277	October 27, 2007

Attendance

Year	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Game 8	Average	% of Capacity
1997	41,698	38,035	38,288	43,516	42,314	39,389	45,735			41,213	98.84%
1998	41,698	43,634	41,868	43,948	45,807	46,031	43,723			44,169	105.93%
1999	41,698	40,938	41,374	45,660	45,445	44,090	46,115			43,937	105.37%
2000	41,698	43,371	43,770	45,470	46,153	45,950	45,845			45,093	108.14%
2001	41,698	45,919	45,712	45,765	45,258	46,021	46,064	46,075		45,830	109.91%
2002	54,000	56,386	56,357	55,187	56,066	56,432	56,754	56,436	57,112	56,341	104.34%
2003	54,000	56,471	59,023	57,473	57,627	57,511	58,102			57,701	106.85%
2004	54,000	57,550	57,912	58,208	58,237	58,101	58,344			58,058	107.51%
2005	54,000	58,169	58,201	59,129	58,269	58,309	58,525			58,433	108.21%
2006	54,000	58,450	59,269	58,618	57,493	58,408	58,029			58,377	108.11%
2007	54,000	57,662	58,525	59,273	58,749	59,277	59,379	59,050		58,845	108.97%
2008	54,000	58,778	58,060	58,713	58,728	58,013	58,369			58,443	108.23%
2009	54,000	57,772	58,017	58,975	57,378	59,592	58,475	59,597		58,543	108.41%
2010	54,000	59,104	58,086	59,818	59,372	60,017	59,990			59,397	110.00%
2011	54,000	58,818	58,874	58,796	60,055	59,126	59,933	59,802	59,376	59,344	109.90%
2012	54,000	56,144	55,755	57,091	58,334	58,792	57,521	58,792		57,490	106.46%
2013	54,000	57,769	57,895	56,987	56,949	59,206	56,481	58,330		57,659	106.78%

_{Win Attendance Record Conference Championship Game}

Location and configuration

The stadium seen from Spencer Butte

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 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.

Crowd noise

Autzen is known for its crowd noise. The fans are very close to the field compared to other stadiums and the field is sunken, which contributes to the loudness of the stadium despite having a smaller capacity than most other 'noise comparable' stadiums. According to many in the Pac-10, it was actually even louder prior to the most recent expansion because the noise reverberated all the way up the stadium and bounced back down to the field—the so-called "Autzen bounce." Oregon officials say that any future expansions will trap more noise.

On October 27, 2007, during a 24–17 defeat of the USC Trojans, a then-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

“

Autzen's 59,000 strong make the Big House collectively sound like a pathetic whimper. It’s louder than any place I’ve ever been, and that includes The Swamp at Florida, The Shoe in Columbus, and Death Valley at Louisiana State. Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die.

”

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

A view of the field during the 2007 USC game. The new press box on the south side, built in 2002, is visible to the left

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

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!"

Jahvid Best, a starting running back for the California Golden Bears said of his game in 2007 at Autzen Stadium, "The biggest thing I remember about that game is the crowd. The crowd noise is crazy up there. Honestly, any other away game I don't really even hear the crowd. Oregon was the only place where it really got on my nerves."

Traditions

Since 1990, Autzen Stadium announcer Don Essig has repeated his ironic catchphrase "It never rains at Autzen Stadium" before each home game as the crowd chants along in unison. He often prefaces it with the local weather forecast, which quite often includes some chance of showers, but reminds fans that "we know the real forecast..." or "let's tell our friends from (visiting team name) the real forecast..." If rain is actually falling before the game, Essig will often dismiss it as "a light drizzle," or "liquid sunshine" but not actual rain by Oregon standards. Also, because of the use of Autzen stadium in 'National Lampoons Animal House' a jazz clip from the movie is often played in the third quarter.

Prior to the football team taking the field, a highlight video of previous games is shown on the jumbotron, nicknamed "Duckvision". The last highlight on the clip is almost always Kenny Wheaton's game-clinching 97-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Washington Huskies in 1994. "The Pick" is often seen as the turning point for Oregon football, which went on to the Rose Bowl that year and have enjoyed success for the most part ever since after years of losing records.

After the video, a motorcycle with the Oregon Duck mascot riding on the back, rides on to the field leading the team behind them. This is followed by the north side of the stadium chanting "GO" with the south side chanting "DUCKS!".

Other uses

Autzen Stadium is the largest sports arena in the state of Oregon. 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, from 1969–2001. It also hosts football camps and coaches' clinics, marching band competitions and musical concerts.

Bob Dylan and The Grateful Dead recorded a portion of their collaborative live album, entitled Dylan & the Dead, here on July 19, 1987.

It was also used as the location for the fictional Faber College football stadium in the 1978 movie, National Lampoon's Animal House.

External links

• Sports-Venue.com – Autzen Stadium – Info and Photos
• Goducks.com – Official Autzen Stadium Information
• Building Oregon: Architecture of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest includes images and documentation for University of Oregon buildings