Autzen Stadium

Autzen Stadium is located just north of the University of Oregon’s main campus on the

north side of the Willamette River. The stadium sits upon a 90-acre site near the North

Bank Park area of Eugene. It replaced the historically known Hayward Field as home of the

Oregon Duck’s football when it was opened in 1967. Autzen is one of the finest stadiums in

the NCAA. The stadium was built in 1966 at a cost of $2.5 million. $1 million was raised by

1,000 sponsors, contributing $1,000 each, in return for a 25-year option on two of the best

seats in the stadium. The largest single donation for the construction of Autzen Stadium 

was from a Portland philanthropist, lumberman and sportsman by the name of Thomas J.

Autzen, the man whom the stadium was named for. Autzen gave the university $250,000 to

help finance the project. Even with all of the sponsors and donations, Autzen Stadium was

built at a relatively low price. The fact that the land had been purchased ten years before

the construction started at a price of $1,000 per acre, and that the stadium is an earth-

filled bowl with it’s materials taken only from the site itself, are reasons for it’s low cost.

There are several unique features that Autzen Stadium has that other NCAA stadiums do not. 

The University of Oregon’s track is at Hayward Field and not in Autzen

which places the first row of seats just 30 feet from the sideline. At the fifty-yard line the

seats are six feet from ground level and they rise to 12 feet at the end zones. This gives

each fan a good view of the game. Also, the field itself has been kept up-to-date very

well over the years. The stadium went under it’s first installation of artificial turf in

1969, and this was replaced in 1976. With the coming of a new, advanced material, the

field was again resurfaced with Omni Turf in 1984. A new Omni Turf surface was put in

before the 1991 season.

There have also been several, more recent updates to the stadium. The sound

system in Autzen was recently redone. The system used to be powered by only two

200-watt per channel amplifiers. The speakers were placed at one end of the stadium and

the closest fans got the announcer’s voice good and loud while at the other end fans could

not hear anything. A new system was put in with better equipment, better speaker

mounting locations, and full range sound for the entire stadium. The skyline at Autzen

was updated with the construction of the Stadium Club behind the east end zone in 1981.

As an additional meeting facility for the football team, it also provides an excellent place

for pre-game activities and functions. Two new practice fields west of the Casanova

Center as well as the Ed Moshofsky Sports Center were also recently built.

Autzen Stadium has hosted record numbers of fans in the past century. Over

2,200,000 fans have watched the Oregon Ducks play football at Autzen since 1987. The

first game ever played at Autzen Stadium was on September 23, 1967 on regional

television. The Ducks played nationally ranked Colorado and lost 17-13. The Duck’s

best records were during the 18 seasons coached by Rich Brooks. After his departure to

the NFL, the athletic department named the playing surface, Brooks Field, after him.