What was once an obvious choice in a discussion has now become a question to many Oregon fans. Should an expansion take place on Autzen Stadium as bantered about, or are other options better for the Oregon Athletic Department? This is a subject of pondering that pulled me away from looking into casinos.com to get the top bonus offers as the impact of declining or compromise will affect AD finances in a major way.
Expand? How Much?
I’ve heard all kinds of numbers suggested to where with standing room Autzen would hold between 72,000 to 75,000 from the current 54,000 to 60,000 with standing room added. We are talking about another 15,000 to 18,000 seats being added, but can Oregon actually fill them in the coming years? Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State do not come to Oregon very often, and the question becomes if Rutgers, Northwestern, Wisconsin and other B1G fan bases will travel that well?
We know Nebraska fans do from our game in 2017, but I am very skeptical that the majority of visiting B1G teams will leave big holes in the upper seating areas. Heck, we might get more visiting fans from USC and Washington than many of the new conference foes. Is that what Oregon wants? How will that look on television when cameras pan the stadium?
The Huskies do not sell out their stadium of 70,000 very often, and they have a metro area in Seattle of 3.5 million to support the attendance numbers. Goodness knows how empty the Coliseum in Los Angeles looks at times, but the product they present might have something to do with it! I just cannot help but wonder if the Ducks are not biting off more than their yellow-bill can chew?
The other challenge occurs with a couple of non-conference games each year that will never have the numbers needed to fill those extra seats. You can only run so many discount ticket specials and give away only so many free tickets to Youth, Middle-School and Church groups to sell the next generation on the fun of dancing to “Shout” at the end of the third quarter. How do you fill up those empty spots in September?
As you can see in the background of Justin Herbert throwing…Nebraska fans travel well. (Photo by Kevin Cline)
This is going to be a complex cost-benefit analysis for Rob Mullens, as the millions from ticket sales have to be balanced with the negatives, such as some loss of that incredible home-field advantage? While there are more voices, the holes in seating can also absorb some of the sound and make the stadium less intimidating? We must retain that reputation attained from the victory against the Buckeyes earlier this season.
Perhaps a solution is retain the same number of seats and raise the prices even more? Or is a compromise of adding only 8,000 seats more reasonable? It seems that as long as Dan Lanning is at Oregon–a ton of winning is in our future. Yet what about filling up those seats after Coach Lanning is gone? Hiring great coaches is hard, as many schools are apt to tell you.
The good news is that the administration at Oregon has a couple of years to figure it out because the new indoor practice facility is being built first, and then they pivot to changes at Autzen. I am curious as to your thoughts about Autzen expansion, or not. Let me know on the only free, civilized Oregon Football message board out there, the Our Beloved Ducks forum because…
“Oh, how we love to ponder about Our Beloved Ducks!”
Charles Fischer (Mr. FishDuck)
Eugene, Oregon
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Charles Fischer has been an intense fan of the Ducks, a season ticket holder at Autzen Stadium for 38 years and has written reports on football boards for over 26 years. Known as “FishDuck” on those boards, he is acknowledged for providing intense detail in his scrimmage reports, and in his Xs and Os play analyses. He is single, has a daughter Christine, and resides in Eugene Oregon where he was a Financial Advisor for 36 years.
He now focuses full-time on Charitable Planned Giving Workshops for churches and non-profit organizations in addition to managing his two Oregon Football Websites, of FishDuck.com and the Our Beloved Ducks forum. He is a busy man!
He does not profess to be a coach or analyst, but simply a “hack” that enjoys sharing what he has learned and invites others to correct or add to this body of Oregon Football! See More…