Oregon’s Home Away From Home

I start this article by admitting to failure. My search for something interesting to talk about for Oregon’s upcoming game against Northwestern came up empty. The Ducks should roll over the Wildcats the same way they destroyed Montana State and Oklahoma State. Even Mr. FishDuck had given up on Wildcat topics to have some gaming fun at Syndicate casino to pass the time until Saturday morning.

But, then I stumbled onto the fact that Northwestern is playing their home games at Martin Stadium (no, not in Pullman), a temporary, 12,000-seat facility on the scenic shores of Lake Michigan, as they spend close to a billion dollars to rebuild Ryan Field.

It is a beautiful setting. Think playing the Huskies on the practice fields beyond the eastern, open end of Husky Stadium which are right up against Lake Washington.

So, this got me daydreaming about the possibilities of what would happen if our Ducks had to leave Autzen for a year or two.

The Ducks, of course, were able to avoid a temporary stadium situation in 2002 when they expanded Autzen Stadium. But, where would they have played if they had to play a season somewhere else? Portland? Corvallis (yeah, right, no)? The old Hayward Field?

My guess would be that they would have played in Portland at PGE Stadium (The former Civic Stadium, now known as Providence Park). In my opinion, the old Hayward just would not cut it. And, of course, you can just forget about Corvallis being a place the Ducks would play. So, to Portland we would go.

Northwestern’s temporary field. (Photo by: X, @robertson_will)

In the old days, before Autzen opened in 1967, Hayward Field was Oregon’s home, but they would play big games (USC, UW, etc.) in Portland. So, playing in Portland does have a history.

Now, let’s fast forward to today. Let us pretend that the Ducks expand the north side of Autzen and add so much crazy, cool stuff around the whole stadium that they have to find a new home for a year. I know this would never happen, but just play along.

The new Hayward Field smack dab in the middle of campus would be awesome. With added temporary seats and standing room only, you can probably squeeze 25,000 (about the same at Providence Park) people in it. On top of that, imagine tailgating and food and retail stands, and local bands playing everywhere.

There would be a Saturday Market feel across the whole campus with fans and students milling about everywhere, even attracting those who do not really care about the football but just want to be part of an event. Movie theater sized screens would be located throughout campus so those who could not get in could still watch and feel the vibe. They could also open up old Mac Court next door to throw a massive watch party.

Coming upon campus would be like entering the gates of Disneyland and walking down Main Street. A magical vibe of Oregon football meets Disneyland meets TrackTown USA. And, like Mr. Disney, I would be the mystical mayor of it all! (Bad idea, as corruption would soon follow.) There would be a statue of me erected…

…OK, daydream over.

Even if the Ducks played at Hayward for year, the powers that be would never open up the campus to the way that I envision. Too much red tape and regulations.

But, damn it, a guy can dream.

Darren Perkins
Spokane, WA
Top photo credit: Scott Kelley

Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in technology in SLC, Utah.

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Darren Perkins

Darren Perkins is a sales professional and 1997 Oregon graduate. After finishing school, he escaped the rain and moved to sunny Southern California where he studied screenwriting for two years at UCLA. Darren grew up in Eugene and in 1980, at the tender age of five, he attended his first Oregon football game. His lasting memory from that experience was an enthusiastic Don Essig announcing to the crowd: “Reggie Ogburn, completes a pass to… Reggie Ogburn.” Captivated by such a thrilling play, Darren’s been hooked on Oregon football ever since. Currently living in Spokane, Darren enjoys flaunting his yellow and green superiority complex over friends and family in Cougar country.