PK Park explained

Stadium Name:PK Park
Coordinates:44.059°N -123.066°W
Address:2760 M.L. King Jr. Blvd.
Location:Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
Pushpin Map:USA#Oregon
Pushpin Relief:yes
Pushpin Label:Eugene
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the United States##Location in Oregon
Broke Ground:August 15, 2008 [1]
Opened:February 27, 2009
[2]
[3]
Operator:University of Oregon
Surface:FieldTurf
Construction Cost:$19.2 million
($ in)
Architect:DLR Group
Structural Engineer:KPFF Consulting Engineers[4]
General Contractor:Lease Crutcher Lewis[5]
Tenants:Oregon Ducks (NCAA) (2009–present)
Eugene Emeralds (High-A West) (2010–present)
Seating Capacity:4,000
Record Attendance:5,097   (July 4, 2017)
Dimensions:Left – 335feet
Center – 400feet
Right – 325feet

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 Big Ten Conference, and during the summer, the home of the minor league Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest League.[6] [7] The Ducks' program was revived in 2009 after nearly three decades as a club sport.[8]

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. Located just east of Autzen Stadium, the baseball park was built on the northeast section of the football stadium's parking lot.[10]

The Ducks' home field through 1981 was Howe Field, just south of McArthur Court. The on-campus venue has since been converted to Jane Sanders Stadium, the home of women's softball.

The elevation of the FieldTurf playing field at PK Park is approximately 420feet 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.[11] 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.[12]

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.

In 2021, Pk Park hosted another regional, as the Ducks entered as the #14 national seed. Oregon fell short when they lost to LSU in the regional championship

Attendance

In 2013, the Ducks ranked 34th among Division I baseball programs in attendance, averaging 1,971 per home game.[13]

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.[14] 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.[15] 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.

-- sortable-->" style="text-align:center"
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

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 after the school eliminated baseball as a varsity sport in 1981.[16] The minor league Eugene Emeralds had played at Civic Stadium from 1969 through 2009, and previously at Bethel Park, located at Roosevelt Boulevard and Maple Street ; its outfield is now Lark City Park.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: University of Oregon Breaks Ground on New Baseball Facility . University of Oregon Athletics. August 15, 2008. June 26, 2013.
  2. Web site: Schmidt's Walk-Off Upsets Defending Champs . University of Oregon Athletics. February 27, 2009. June 26, 2013.
  3. Web site: First Inning Propels Oregon To Victory . University of Oregon Athletics. March 2, 2010 . June 26, 2013.
  4. Web site: KPFF - Consulting Engineers . 2011-11-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120402161638/http://www.kpff.com/projects-4/0/3/1001 . 2012-04-02 . dead .
  5. Web site: Reports. 8 February 2017.
  6. Web site: PK Park . Eugene Emeralds . 24 August 2011 . https://archive.today/20240525114434/https://www.webcitation.org/61BFYkgxV?url=http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/team1/page.jsp%3Fymd=20100510 . 2024-05-25 . live .
  7. Web site: PK Park . MiLB.com . Minor League Baseball . 7 March 2021.
  8. Web site: Associated Press. Oregon to Reinstate Baseball Program. The Houston Chronicle Online. 24 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20121022001424/http://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/Oregon-to-reinstate-baseball-program-1802642.php. 2012-10-22. July 13, 2007. live.
  9. Web site: Pat Kilkenny Biography. Holden Leadership Center. 24 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110831010533/http://leadership.uoregon.edu/about/kilkenny/pat_bio. 2011-08-31. live.
  10. News: Autzen emerges as likely UO baseball site . Eugene Register-Guard . Bolt . Greg . January 16, 2008 . A1.
  11. Web site: Playing Field Orientation – Rule 1.04 . Major League Baseball . November 11, 2015.
  12. Web site: 2012 Super Regional Schedule. D1Baseball.com. 12 June 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120614005122/http://www.d1baseball.com/2012/daily/0608.htm. 2012-06-14. live.
  13. Web site: Cutler. Tami. 2013 Division I Baseball Attendance – Final Report. Sportswriters.net. NCBWA. July 20, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140728065411/http://www.sportswriters.net/ncbwa/news/2013/attendance130611.pdf. July 28, 2014. June 11, 2013. live.
  14. News: Fentress. Aaron. Kent State Advances to College World Series With 3-2 Win Over Oregon Ducks. 17 June 2012. The Oregonian. 11 June 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120615203109/http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2012/06/eugene_super_regional_kent_sta.html. 15 June 2012. live.
  15. News: Mims. Steve. Eugene Emeralds fall to Boise Hawks in 20-inning marathon. 5 July 2017. The Register-Guard. 5 July 2017.
  16. Web site: About Howe Field. University of Oregon Athletics. June 26, 2013.