Autzen-area expansion projects to start in June | Real Estate

Compiled from a University of Oregon press release

A privately funded expansion of the Casanova Center and other facilities around Autzen Stadium will affect operations and access to parking lots through the fall of 2013, the University of Oregon athletic department said Monday.

The project will add a new football operations center to the west and north of the existing Len Casanova Center, as well as a new women’s soccer and lacrosse complex at the east end of Autzen Stadium.

Work on the Casanova Center is expected to begin in June. This will result in a temporary alteration to the Athletics Department’s daily operation starting May 23.

The Duck Athletic Fund and the athletic ticket offices will relocated from the north side of the Cas Center to the adjacent Moshofsky Center. The majority of the department’s daily ticket operations and accompanying fundraising offices will be moved to the northeast corner of Oregon’s indoor practice facility at the opposite end of the building’s Duck Store.

Once project construction begins, the surrounding parking lots to the west and north of the Cas Center will be inaccessible for the duration of the project, which is expected to be completed in the fall of 2013.

Parking for patrons conducting business in the Moshofsky Center ticket and Duck Athletic Fund offices is encouraged in the Mo Center’s southeast lot.

Construction on the project can be broken down into three different areas:

• the initial phase will consist of utility relocation of the existing and future properties, and will be managed by the University;
• the second phase of work will be the construction of the soccer and lacrosse stadium, which is slated to begin in August;
• the Casanova Center expansion is expected to get underway in October.

While parking in the lots surrounding the Casanova Center will be unavailable until the completion of the project, an underground parking structure will complement the renovated surface parking to accommodate approximately 206 vehicles – a gain of almost 60 spaces to the existing Casanova Center parking inventory – once the project is completed.

Soon after construction gets underway in the area surrounding the Casanova Center, the only entrance into the Athletics Department’s primary administrative offices will be shifted to the east end of the building (nearest Autzen Stadium), with the general public and employees parking relocated to the Moshofsky Center lot as well as the east parking lot of Autzen Stadium.

Cas Center expansion brings new amenities to Duck football program

At the heart of the 130,000 square-foot Cas Center expansion, which is expected to encompass as many as six floors in some areas, will be a football facility. Included in the project’s amenities will be coaches offices, nine dedicated football position meeting rooms, two team video theaters, offense and defense strategy rooms as well as a larger conference suite for the entire coaching staff.

The centralized area will be flanked by office and locker facilities for coaches, staff and student-athletes, an advanced video editing and distribution center, a full-service dining facility that will seat approximately 250 guests and be available to all members of the University community, as well as a new 25,000 square-foot weight room overlooking three new football practice fields.

The renovated practice facilities will include one enhanced grass practice field and two new synthetic turf surfaces.

The ground floor of the facility will feature a lobby and reception area that will celebrate the proud history of the Ducks’ football program.

Women's soccer and lacrosse: New team, spectator features

The women’s soccer and lacrosse facility will provide a new stadium to the south of PK Park. The facility is expected to be ready for play in the spring of 2012. The facility will include separate coaches’ offices and locker room suites for both programs, as well as a shared meeting/video room. Enhancing the student-athletes experience will be locker-room access in close proximity to the synthetic turf playing surface.

The Ducks’ women’s soccer program will continue to practice and play at the current Pape Field location (located to the west of the Casanova Center) for the duration of the 2011 fall season.

Amenities to the facility for spectators will include a pre-game event village that will include ticketing, concessions and restrooms also accessible for tailgaters that will enhance the Ducks’ fan experience during football game-day activities.

The synthetic playing surface also will allow for tented tailgating opportunities to take place inside the stadium during other athletics events.

During the construction, hospitality and tented activity areas displaced by the new soccer/lacrosse stadium, including the Duck Store game-day retail location, are expected to be relocated in an area inside and surrounding PK Park during football games.

Both facilities are designed to continue the University’s commitment to sustainability as they will be built to exceed the Oregon State Energy Efficiency Design (SEED) standards.

Projects will result in loss of car, RV spaces for tailgating

Due to the relocation of the soccer and lacrosse facilities into the Autzen Stadium east parking lot, capacity for football game-day parking will temporarily diminish by about 729 automobile and 43 RV spaces for the 2011 season. An incremental increase of parking is anticipated for the 2012 and 2013 seasons as the project progresses.

Once construction in the Autzen Stadium lot has been completed, the majority of parking in the east lot will be restored, with the Athletics Department anticipating a net loss of 203 automobile and 43 RV spaces from what was available there last season.

Once the entire project has been completed, the result will be an accumulated loss of only 143 spaces for cars and 43 for recreational vehicles (from the Autzen Stadium and Casanova lots).

As a result of the decreased availability of Autzen Stadium parking, the distribution of general admission parking passes in the east lot will be curtailed until further notice. However, fans who are awarded reserved parking privileges should receive their parking passes along with their football season tickets in August.