Autzen Stadium History: Home of the Ducks

History

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

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 Autzen, for whom the stadium was named. 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.

The first game played at Autzen Stadium was on September 23, 1967 in which Colorado defeated Oregon, 17–13. Oregon’s first win in the stadium occurred on October 21, when Idaho was defeated 31–6. That was the only victory for Oregon at Autzen Stadium that year.

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

Renovations

The old press box on the northern 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 Ellber Becket.

In 1995, the field was named Rich Brooks Field. Brooks, currently the head coach at Kentucky, coached the Ducks from 1977-94, and led the Ducks to their first outright Pac-10 title in school history in 1994.

In 2002, a $90 million facelift and expansion added seating and luxury boxes to the south sideline, bringing capacity up to its current size.

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, The Gameday crew held 2 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– 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.

Reference from wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autzen_Stadium