PK Park

PK Park is a baseball stadium in the northwest United States, located in Eugene, Oregon. It is the home field of the University of Oregon Ducks of the Pac-12 Conference, and, during the summer, the home of the minor league Eugene Emeralds of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League.[7] The Oregon Ducks' program was revived in 2009 after nearly three decades as a club sport.[8]

PK Park

PK Park in June 2010
Location	2760 M.L. King Jr. Blvd. Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates	44.059°N 123.066°W
Owner	University of Oregon
Operator	University of Oregon
Capacity	4,000
Record attendance	5,097   (July 4, 2017)
Field size	Left – 335 ft (102 m) Center – 400 ft (122 m) Right – 325 ft (99 m)
Surface	FieldTurf
Construction
Broke ground	August 15, 2008 [1]
Opened	February 27, 2009 (temporary seating)[2] March 2, 2010 (completed stadium)[3]
Construction cost	$19.2 million ($22.9 million in 2019 dollars[4])
Architect	DLR Group
Structural engineer	KPFF Consulting Engineers[5]
General contractor	Lease Crutcher Lewis[6]
Tenants
Oregon Ducks (NCAA) (2009–present) Eugene Emeralds (NWL) (2010–present)

PK Park is named after former Oregon athletic director Pat Kilkenny, whose donations helped to fund the stadium.[9] Designed by sport architect DLR Group, PK Park has 3,000 fixed seats in the main seating bowl and a total capacity of 4,000 spectators. Fan amenities include a video board, landscaped areas for hospitality, a tiered party plaza called "Fowl Territory", a picnic plaza, and eight upper level suites. It is located just east of Autzen Stadium; the baseball park was built on the northeast section of the football stadium's parking lot.

The Ducks' home field through 1981 was Howe Field, just south of McArthur Court. The on-campus venue had since been converted to a facility for the women's softball team.

The elevation of the FieldTurf playing field at PK Park is approximately 420 feet (130 m) above sea level. It has an unorthodox alignment, oriented southeast by east (home plate to center field); the recommended alignment of a baseball diamond is east-northeast.[10] The former home venues of Howe Field and Civic Stadium were similar, both aligned southeast.

First seasons

Ground was broken for the facility on August 15, 2008, and the first phase involved construction of the FieldTurf playing field and temporary seating for the 2009 season.[1] In their first game at PK Park on February 27, 2009, the Ducks beat Fresno State, the defending national champions, 1-0 on a walk-off single by senior Andrew Schmidt, witnessed by a sellout crowd of 2,777.[2] The second phase of the project was the permanent concrete grandstand, built between the 2009 and 2010 seasons. The first game in the completed stadium was on March 2, 2010, a 6-2 win over the Washington Huskies, with 2,609 in attendance.[3]

NCAA tournament

In 2012, the park hosted an NCAA Regional and Super Regional. Oregon won the Regional, but was defeated by Kent State in three games in the Super Regional.[11]

In 2013, PK Park again hosted an NCAA Regional, as the Ducks entered the 64-team tournament as a #8 national seed. Oregon lost its second and fifth games, both to the Rice Owls, and were eliminated.

Attendance

In 2013, the Ducks ranked 34th among Division I baseball programs in attendance, averaging 1,971 per home game.[12]

The park set an Oregon Ducks athletics single-game attendance record of 4,825 on June 11, 2012, in game three of the Super Regional against Kent State; the Golden Flashes defeated the Ducks 3-2.[13] To increase the stadium's capacity for postseason play, two temporary stands were erected beyond the left-center field wall.

The overall attendance record was set in 2017 when 5,097 fans attended a July 4 contest between the Eugene Emeralds and Boise Hawks.[14] The game went on for 20 innings - the longest ever for any professional baseball game to be played on the July 4th Independence Day holiday.[15]

Rank	Attendance	Opponent	Date	Notes
1	4,825	Kent State	June 11, 2012	NCAA Super Regional
2	4,177	Kent State	June 9, 2012	NCAA Super Regional
3	3,892	California*	April 28, 2012	post-Spring football game
	3,892	Stanford*	April 27, 2013	post-Spring football game
	3,892	Oregon State	May 18, 2013	Civil War rivalry
6	3,843	Kent State	June 10, 2012	NCAA Super Regional
7	3,820	Oregon State	May 17, 2013	Civil War rivalry
8	3,791	Washington State*	May 1, 2010	post-Spring football game
9	3,771	Austin Peay	June 1, 2012	NCAA Regional
10	3,762	Oregon State	May 19, 2013	Civil War rivalry

* – Spring Football game played on the same day (No home baseball game after 2011 spring game).

Previous venue

In the program's first period as a varsity sport (1936–1981), the Ducks played at Howe Field, which was converted to the women's softball venue in 1987.[16]

See also

• List of NCAA Division I baseball venues
• Civic Stadium, former home of the Eugene Emeralds

References

1. "University of Oregon Breaks Ground on New Baseball Facility". University of Oregon Athletics. August 15, 2008. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
2. "Schmidt's Walk-Off Upsets Defending Champs". University of Oregon Athletics. February 27, 2009. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
3. "First Inning Propels Oregon To Victory". University of Oregon Athletics. March 2, 2010. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
4. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2011-11-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. http://northwest.construction.com/northwest_construction_projects/2010/1201_PKPark.asp
7. "PK Park". Eugene Emeralds. Archived from the original on 2011-08-24. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
8. "Oregon to Reinstate Baseball Program". The Houston Chronicle Online. Associated Press. July 13, 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-08-24. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
9. "Pat Kilkenny Biography". Holden Leadership Center. Archived from the original on 2011-08-24. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
10. "Playing Field Orientation – Rule 1.04" (PDF). Major League Baseball. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
11. "2012 Super Regional Schedule". D1Baseball.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-12. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
12. Cutler, Tami (June 11, 2013). "2013 Division I Baseball Attendance – Final Report" (PDF). Sportswriters.net. NCBWA. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
13. Fentress, Aaron (11 June 2012). "Kent State Advances to College World Series With 3-2 Win Over Oregon Ducks". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
14. Mims, Steve (5 July 2017). "Eugene Emeralds fall to Boise Hawks in 20-inning marathon". The Register-Guard. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
15. https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Marathon_Games
16. "About Howe Field". University of Oregon Athletics. Retrieved June 26, 2013.

External links

• PK Park University of Oregon Athletics
• PK Park Eugene Emeralds
• Information on ballpark when proposed