Autzen Stadium

Panoramic view during a game in 2011
Autzen Stadium Location in Eugene Show map of Eugene OR Autzen Stadium Location in Oregon Show map of Oregon Autzen Stadium Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	2727 Leo Harris Parkway Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates	44°3′30″N123°4′7″W / 44.05833°N 123.06861°W /44.05833; -123.06861
Owner	Oregon Ducks
Operator	University of Oregon
Capacity	54,000[1] standing room to 60,000[2] (2012–present) Former capacity: List 41,698 (1988–2001) 41,097 (1969–1987) 41,078 (1967–1968)[3]
Surface	FieldTurf – (2012–present) NeXturf – (2001) OmniTurf – (1984–2000) AstroTurf – (1969–1983) Natural grass – (1967–1968)[4]
Construction
Broke ground	1966; 59 years ago (1966)
Opened	September 23, 1967[10][11]
Renovated	2002
Expanded	2002
Construction cost	$2.3 million[5][6] $80 million (2002 renovation)
Architect	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill[5][7] Ellerbe Becket (2012 renovation)
General contractor	Gale M. Roberts Co. (1967)[7][8][9]
Tenants
Oregon Ducks football (NCAA) (1967–present)
Website
goducks.com/stadium

Autzen Stadium is an outdoorfootball stadium inEugene, Oregon, United States. Located north of theUniversity of Oregon campus, it is the home field of theOregon Ducks of theBig Ten Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium has undergone several expansions. The officialseating capacity is presently 54,000 to 60,000 (withSRO); however, the actual attendance regularly exceeds that figure.^[12]

Prior to 1967, the Ducks' on-campus stadium wasHayward 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 (nowDivision 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 theannual rivalry game withOregon State, games that were likely to draw big crowds (against schools likeWashington andUSC) were played 110 miles (180 km) north inPortland at the largerMultnomah 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 directorLeo Harris led a campaign to build a new stadium on 90 acres (0.36 km²) on the north bank of theWilliamette River that the school had acquired for the purpose in the 1950s on his recommendation.^{[13][14][15][16]}

School presidentArthur Flemming was initially skeptical of the project, and askedSkidmore, 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 thePacific Coast Conference in 1959. Oregon had been left out of its successor, the Athletic Association of Western Universities (direct ancestor of thePacific-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 state 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.^[15]

Designed by SOM,^[5] 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.^[5] $250,000 was contributed by the Autzen Foundation, headed byThomas E. Autzen (class of 1943), son ofPortland lumberman and philanthropistThomas J. Autzen (1888–1958), for whom the stadium was named.^[5][17][18] The elder Autzen was ironically an alumnus of Oregon archrivalOregon State University.

In1967, Oregon hostedColorado in Autzen Stadium's inaugural game, a 17–13 loss before 27,500 on September 23.^[10] Four weeks later on October 21, 16,000 saw Oregon's first win in the new facility; the 31–6 victory overIdaho was the only home win of the season.^[19]

The stadium alternates with Oregon State'sReser Stadium as host of theannual rivalry game with the Beavers.

Autzen hosted theinauguralPac-12 Conference Championship game on December 2, 2011, as the Pac-12 North champion Ducks defeated the Pac-12 South championUCLA Bruins.

Opened with natural grass in 1967, the field was switched toAstroTurf and lights were added for its third season in1969.^[20][21][22] After seven years, it was replaced with new AstroTurf in 1976.^[23][24] Sand-basedOmniTurf was installed in 1984 and 1991,^{[25][26][27][28][29]} and infilled NeXturf in2001.^[30] The NeXturf was found to be overly slick when wet and lasted only one season,^[31] and was transferred to an intramural field.^[32]FieldTurf made its debut in Autzen in2002,^[31][33] and was replaced in2010.^[34]

With up to 8 feet (2.4 m) of gravel fill underneath the field, the original crown of the natural grass field was moderate, with the center of the field approximately one foot (0.30 m) higher than the sidelines.^[7] The crown was removed in 2010, and the surface is now flat.^[34]

In 1982, a $650,000 meeting room complex, the Donald Barker Stadium Club, was opened on the east rim above the end zone. It gave the stadium its first meeting facilities,^[12] and was dedicated at the home opener in September.^[35]

A proposal to enclose the stadium within a dome was given serious consideration in 1985.^[36][37][38] New tax laws on contributions altered the feasibility, and the overall project was scaled back.^[39] 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 toluxury suites.^[39] The renovation was designed by architecture firmEllerbe Becket.^[12]

In 1995, the field was namedRich Brooks Field, after the Ducks' coach from 1977 to 1994. Brooks led Oregon to its first outrightPac-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 theSt. Louis Rams of theNational 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.^[12]

In 2007, the large yellow "O" was added onto the south end of the stadium exterior whenESPN'sCollege GameDay was on location. That season, "Gameday" originated two of its Saturday shows from Eugene.

In 2008, a new, 33-by-85-foot (10 by 26 m) high-definition LED scoreboard and replay screen—known asDuckVision or "Duckvision 2.0"—was installed; it replaced the original video screen installed prior to the 1998–1999 football season. It is the 39th largest video screen in the NCAA.

In 2010, the field was replaced with newFieldTurf that featured the new Pac-12 logo (even before the logo was officially revealed to the public). During the process, the crown was removed to make the field flat.^[34] In addition, new paneling was added to the walls surrounding the field.^{[citation needed]}

In 2014, the east end-zone scoreboard was updated to include a digital screen, the addition of 150 flat screen monitors throughout the concessions areas, additional culinary options in the form of food trucks on the north side of the stadium, increased cell phone repeaters and an upgrade to the sound system. Additionally, the sideline wall graphics were updated from the new panels installed in the 2010 season.^[40]

In 2020 the east end-zone scoreboard was replaced with a new 186’ x 66’ video screen on the east end of the stadium, making it the largest video board in college football. The video board will also house a smaller outward-facing 47’ x 26’ video board visible to fans arriving to the stadium.^[41]

The highest attendance at Autzen was 60,129 on October 12,2024, when the Ducks beatOhio State, 32–31.^[42] This stands as the second largest crowd for a sporting event in the state of Oregon, with the largest being theCART Portland 200IndyCar event in 1993, which claimed an estimated attendance of 63,000.^[43][44]

From 1997 to 2001, the Ducks had a 24-game home winning streak at Autzen Stadium, which ended with a 49–42 loss toStanford.^[12]

In 2011, theUSC Trojans defeated the Ducks 38–35, ending a 21-game home winning streak as the Trojans handedChip Kelly his first loss at Autzen as head coach.

_{Sellout.Conference Championship Game.Attendance Record.1 – Thursday Night Game.2 – Friday Night Game.3 – ESPN's College GameDay.}

The stadium is located just north of theWillamette River, next toAlton Baker Park. Students typically walk to the stadium from the University of Oregon campus over theAutzen Footbridge, which passes over the Willamette, then through Alton Baker Park. TheFieldTurf 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.

Autzen is known for its crowd noise. Due to the stadium's relatively small footprint, the fans are very close to the action, and the field is sunken. These factors contribute to the loudness of the stadium even though it is smaller than other 'noise comparable' stadiums.^[54] According to many in the Pac-12, from Oregon's resurgence in the mid-1990s until the most recent expansion in 2002, Autzen was even louder 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.^[55]

On October 27, 2007, during a 24–17 victory against theUSC Trojans, a then-record crowd of 59,277 fans was recorded at 127.2decibels. A similarly loud 31–27 upset of third-rankedMichigan in 2003 promptedMichigan Daily columnist J. Brady McCollough to write^[56]

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

Michigan coachLloyd Carr later said that Autzen Stadium was the loudest stadium he'd ever been in.^[57]

In 2006, aSporting News columnist named Autzen the most intimidating college football stadium in the nation.^[58]

Lee Corso ofESPN College Gameday frequently says, "Per person Autzen Stadium is the loudest stadium that I have ever been in my entire life!"^[59]

LongtimeABC sportscasterKeith Jackson called Autzen "Per square yard, the loudest stadium in the history of the planet."^[55]

Jahvid Best, a former starting running back for theDetroit Lions, visited Autzen while playing for theCalifornia Golden Bears in 2007. He later said, "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."^[60]

Following the September 6, 2014 game against the Michigan State Spartans, Michigan sports reporter Mike Griffin of MLive.com accused Oregon of piping in artificial noise that contributed to the Ducks' victory over the Spartans.^[61]

Since 1990, Don Essig, the stadium's PA announcer since 1968, has declared that "It never rains in Autzen Stadium" before each home game as the crowd chants along in unison.^[62] He often prefaces it with the local weather forecast, which quite often includes some chance of showers, but reminds fans that "we know thereal forecast..." or "let's tell our friends from (visiting team name) thereal forecast..." If rain is actually falling before the game, Essig will often dismiss it as "a light drizzle", or "liquid sunshine" but notactual rain by Oregon standards.^[63][64] Between the first and second quarter, the song "Coming Home" by Eugene nativeMat Kearney is played.^[63] Although Kearney did not attend the school, the song references the state and the music video was filmed in the stadium. Also, because of the use of Autzen Stadium and the University of Oregon campus inNational Lampoon's Animal House, thetoga party scene of the movie featuring the song"Shout" is played at the end of the third quarter, with the crowd dancing to the song.^[63]

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, the team takes the field behind a motorcycle with the Oregon Duck riding on back to the strains ofMighty Oregon. This is followed by the north side of the stadium chanting "GO" with the south side chanting "DUCKS!".

After every Duck score and win, a train horn blares. In addition, the Oregon Duck mascot does as many pushups as Oregon has points at that time.

ESPN'sCollege GameDay program came to Eugene for games played in Autzen Stadium six straight years, from 2009 through 2014, the most of any other school during that period. Overall, GameDay has made thirteen visits to Oregon, most recently in 2025 against the Indiana Hoosiers, and the Ducks have been a part of 34 GameDay broadcasts, either at Autzen or as a visiting team. Oregon has the tenth most appearances, posting a 19–12 (.613) record.^[65]

Autzen Stadium is the largest sports arena in the state of Oregon. In 1970, theSan Francisco 49ers defeated theDenver Broncos 23-7 in an exhibition game at Autzen Stadium in front of a crowd of 26,238.^[66]

State high school football championship games were played at Autzen Stadium until 2006. It also hosts football camps, coaches' clinics,marching band competitions, and musical concerts.

Nitro Circus Live was held at the stadium in 2016 and 2018.

TheGrateful Dead used the stadium as a tour stop ten times between 1978 and 1994,^[67] including a 1987 show withBob Dylan during which a portion of their collaborative live album entitledDylan & the Dead was recorded.

It was also used as the location for the fictionalFaber College football stadium in the 1978 movie,National Lampoon's Animal House. There is a well-known geographical error made during a scene set inside the stadium whenPacific-10 conference banners can clearly be seen in the background, even though the fictional Faber College is supposed to be located inTennessee as shown by the state flag in the hearing room for the Delta House probation case.

On July 24, 2016, Autzen Stadium hosted a2016 International Champions Cup match betweenInter Milan andParis Saint-Germain, which was won by Paris Saint-Germain by a score of 3-1.

Date	Winning Team	Result	Losing Team	Tournament	Spectators
July 24, 2016	Paris Saint-Germain	3–1	Inter Milan	2016 International Champions Cup	24,147

• List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAutzen Stadium.

• Official website
• 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

• Oregon Ducks football venues
• University of Oregon buildings
• Skidmore, Owings & Merrill buildings
• Sports venues in Eugene, Oregon
• Sports venues completed in 1967
• 1967 establishments in Oregon

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