Autzen Stadium 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 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 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 archrival 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 2 , 2011 as the Pac - 12 North champion Ducks defeated the Pac - 12 South champion UCLA Bruins . Renovations . 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 Ducks have a current streak of 83 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 . 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 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 . 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 . 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 victory against the USC Trojans , a then - record crowd of 59 , 277 fans was recorded at 127 . 2 decibel s . A similarly loud 31 – 27 upset of third - ranked Michigan in 2003 prompted a " Michigan Daily " columnist to write Michigan coach Lloyd Carr later said that Autzen Stadium was the loudest stadium he ' d ever been in . 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 , the current starting running back for the Detroit Lions , visited Autzen while playing for the California 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 . " Traditions . Since 1990 , Don Essig , the stadium ' s PA announcer since 1968 , has declared that " 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 and the University of Oregon campus in " National Lampoon ' s Animal House " , the toga 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 . 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 of " Mighty 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 foghorn blares . 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 . The Grateful Dead used the stadium as a tour stop ten times between 1978 and 1994 , including a 1987 show with Bob Dylan during which portion of their collaborative live album entitled " Dylan & the Dead " was recorded . It was also used as the location for the fictional Faber College football stadium in the 1978 movie , " National Lampoon ' s Animal House " .