1998 Oregon Football
LAURA GOSS/Emerald
With the addition of the new $15 million Ed Moshofsky Sports Center, Oregon coaches say the Ducks' sports practice facilities rival any in the country.
Moshofsky center, scoreboard added to Eugene skyline
By Joel Hood
Oregon Daily Emerald
The project was completed
months behind schedule and it
cost nearly $2 million more than
its original estimate.
So why is Mike Bellotti smiling?
Because with the construction
of the Athletic Department’s new
$14.6 million indoor practice fa
cility now officially behind them,
the 103rd season of Oregon foot
ball promises to be dryer and more
comfortable than ever before —
that is, prior to Saturday’s kickoff.
The Ducks were able to practice
inside the Ed Moshofsky Sports
Center for the first time on Aug.
26. And while players and coach
es raved about the amenities in
side the state-of-the-art, 117,000
square-foot facility, Bellotti said
he was just happy to have the 17
month project completed.
“I’m really just happy it’s here,”
Bellotti said. “It’s the best of its
kind in the country, but most im
portantly it shows the commit
ment to excellence in athletics at
the University."
Bellotti said he expects the in
door facility will have an immedi
ate impact on the football team
this season because it ensures dry
and comfortable conditions for
practice and allows the coaching
staff to completely close practices
prior to bowl games.
However, Bellotti hopes the
biggest impact the facility has on
the football program will be in
nailing down blue-chip recruits
for future seasons.
“I expect that this facility, and
the other improvements the ath
letic department has made to the
program, will greatly help our re
cruiting in the long run. The foot
ball program will reap the benefits
from this facility for many years to
come,” Bellotti said.
In the short run, Autzen Stadi
um’s west end is now equipped
with a new scoreboard that fea
tures a large-screen video display
that Oregon officials say repre
sents the “cutting-edge” of stadi
um technology.
Manufactured by the Opto Tech
Corp., the $4 million MegaVision
system is only operating in one
other Division I-A stadium in the
country (Pittsburgh’s Pitt Stadi
um) and is considered to be the
most technologically advanced of
the outdoor stadium screens.
Funds for the scoreboard were
secured prior to its completion in
August and were all made possible
through private gifts to the Univer
sity. And that, Athletic Director Bill
Moos said, allows the school to re
tain all sponsorship revenue imme
diately from the six sponsorship
panels, which is estimated to bring
in an additional $300,000 to the
University each year.
“The fact that we have the score
board completely paid for means
that we will be immediately look
ing at profits,” said David Heeke,
associate director for media rela
tions and marketing.
The finalization of the score
board and video display package
goes hand-in-hand with Oregon’s
announcement in June to enter into
a partnership with ESPN Regional
Television as a sales and marketing
tool for the athletic department. A
subsidiary of ESPN Inc., ESPN Re
gional Television will be in charge
of securing sponsorship packages
for the scoreboard which measures
88 feet in width and 56 feet at its
highest point.
“This enables us to take Oregon
Sports Network to a new level and
serve the community better,”
Moos said. “The Pac-lO’s televi
sion contract is still with ABC and
Fox, but ESPN will help us to
bring national advertisers to
Autzen Stadium.”
Moos said the indoor practice
facility and the mammoth new
scoreboard could be just the begin
ning of the improvements to en
hance Autzen Stadium.
Currently there are plans for
Autzen Stadium to have natural grass
by the 2000 season, and the athletic
department is beginning studies to
expand the 31-year-old stadium by
10- to 15,000-seats shortly after.
Although these plans are only
in the beginning stages, Moos said
the new seats would probably
consist of a combination of luxu
ry box seats and general seating,
possibly by adding a second tier of
seats around the east end of the
stadium.
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