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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Wolf travels hundreds of miles to northern Arizona Odd Fellows hopes to rebuild historic lodge as community center Get Up & Go: Nov. 22 Emergency services Public meetings for Nov. 24-28, 2014 Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services Monica pens letter to judge Woman says she was abducted while jogging on Johns Peak Road Portland woman struck by vehicle last week dies in hospital Emergency services Politics and Elections Buckley again named Ways and Means Committee co-chairman Latest count shows Measure 92 supporters narrowing deficit Granlund cartoon: GOP wrecking balls Ballot measures played little role in mobilizing voters in state Senate race 'Euphoria' over pot initiative Education Homelessness is growing problem for Medford students Les AuCoin recommended for SOU board Good news for SOU: Enrollment's up Mom gives school lobby a makeover Crater students present play about Thoreau's night in jail Environment Birders sought for bird counts Grow 'em before you plant 'em Since You Asked: Biomass One makes steam-generated power Organic squash creates a bountiful harvest for ACCESS Prospect-area cow death likely not a wolf kill State News Resent ballots, late results likely to trigger GMO recount Nike plans 1.3 million-square-foot headquarters expansion Federal report shows Coos Bay LNG terminal would be large carbon source Oregon GMO measure may be headed for recount Oregon immigrants, activists celebrate Obama plan Nation - World Obituaries Robert C. Roden Death Notices Tina Marie Williams Sandy Fay Julie Lynn Keller Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Sports Latest Stories West Salem knocks off Grants Pass Blazing hot Spartans save best for last Oregon State slips past Oral Roberts No. 1 Kentucky shoots past Boston Varsity 541 College Sports Oregon State slips past Oral Roberts No. 1 Kentucky shoots past Boston No. 25 Utah routs UC Riverside Oregon defeats Toledo Raider men, women ready for NAIA Championships Pro Sports Blazing hot Spartans save best for last Stenson leads McIlroy by 2 at European Tour finale Cousins, Gay lead Kings past Bulls Lewis inches closer to big prize Community Sports Results / Standings Business Latest Stories Blog: Wild Times in Southern Oregon Ride & Drive: 2015 Honda CR-V Christian's Pharmacy eyes weekend changeover Blog: Medford Center no longer a "forgotten child" Dear Monty: Violation of HOA rules creates conflict Real Estate News Dear Monty: Violation of HOA rules creates conflict Farmers file suit over GMO crop ban Financial webinars offered for veterans and their families Home prices rise across Jackson County People In Business People in Business, Nov. 18 People in Business, Nov. 8 Transportation Medford airport passenger counts sky high in October Erickson reports third quarter profit Lithia reports $34.5 million third-quarter profit Agriculture Farmers file suit over GMO crop ban Lawsuit seeks to overturn Jackson County's GMO ban or net $4.2 million for farms Latest count shows Measure 92 supporters narrowing deficit Revenue rises for Harry & David's parent company Where do all those leaves go? Opinion Latest Other Views: Legislators shbould avoid feel-good distractions Frank Mulligan: They say fame is fleeting Granlund cartoon: Buffalo snow Kent Bush: Obama challenges GOP on immigration Maddocks: Voters’ approval of voters falls to record low Editorials Other Views: Legislators shbould avoid feel-good distractions Our View: Signs of controversy Our view: Richardson got the coverage, not the win Court ruling may envelop Cover Oregon Our View: Kicking the can down the road Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Nov. 21 Letters to the editor Letters to the editor, Nov. 19 Letters to the Editor, Nov. 18 Letters to the Editor, Nov. 17 Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: County voters rebuffed judicial appointment process Fix health care reform, don't scrap it Reflections on the election in Oregon and beyond Measure 89 provides equality for women Eagle Point needs public transportation Lifestyle Latest stories JPEG Moments FISHING REPORT: Friday, Nov. 21 Barry Lewis: No purchasing poinsettias before the Pilgrims and the parade County resident no longer at risk for Ebola Bolt Mountain short but sweet Food Community blog: Finish off Thursday's feast on a lighter note Corn pudding like a ray of sunshine Keep it simple with Thanksgiving wines Homes for the holidays Community blog: Bourbon-bacon pie crust perfect with pumpkin Home and Garden Mortgage insurance: Your questions answered Home Help: Spruce up your home with quick DIY painting projects Beyond curb appeal: When it pays to stand out Use the hidden meaning of color to enhance your home 17 things you never knew about turkeys Health County resident no longer at risk for Ebola Health Watch: Holidays can trigger allergy attacks Dr. Jeff Hersh: Tackling Ebola and flu concerns Dr. Murray Feingold: Is there a good time to get sick? Community blog: Gratitude Expressed Through Giving To Others Aids Health Hiking Biking Faith Religion news: Pope aims to expedite sex abuse rulings Religion news: Seattle-based mega-church dissolves Religion Briefs 'Walk the talk' Religion briefs Milestones and Achievements Local farmers need more products in grocery stores Ashland honey festival draws swarm of visitors Fundraiser to benefit Medford Senior Center New Arrivals The meaning behind Veterans Day Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories New 'Alice' has some for kids ... and adults The Bohemian Club A new guitar slinger in town Clayfolk Show set for this weekend at Medford Armory Caleb Klauder Band and The Steel Wheels play the Unitarian Fellowship Theater New 'Alice' has some for kids ... and adults 'It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play' opens at Oregon Cabaret Theatre 'Red Noses' a romp through slapstick and pathos SOU presents 'The Drunken City' The power of human spirit Music A new guitar slinger in town Peter Chianca: Top 40 songs even a dad could love The Farr Side: Different artists, common songs Caleb Klauder Band and The Steel Wheels play the Unitarian Fellowship Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon to perform two shows Community Events New exhibits highlight Third Fridays Clayfolk Show set for this weekend at Medford Armory Review: Randall Theatre's 'Secret Garden' still enchanting Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Spookadelic Halloween Funktacular promises a lively dance party Dining The Bohemian Club Thanksgiving comes early at Taprock Word of Mouth: Brunch at Brothers' Restaurant Blue Toba is a cultural experience Back Porch Bar & Grill Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Wolf travels hundreds of miles to northern Arizona ... Resent ballots, late results likely to trigger GMO recount ... New 'Alice' has some for kids ... and adults ... Wolf travels hundreds of miles to northern Arizona ... Resent ballots, late results likely to trigger GMO recount ... New 'Alice' has some for kids ... and adults ... COLLEGE FOOTBALL Latest Autzen amenities approaching the surreal Nike magnate Knight is footing the bill for new center pegged at $68 million EUGENE — Football fans driving toward Autzen Stadium this fall will see a medieval-style stone wall running along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard until it meets a six-story, obsidianlike outcropping that is the new University of Oregon Football Operations Center. By DIANE DIETZ MailTribune.com By DIANE DIETZ Posted Jul. 3, 2013 @ 12:01 am Updated Jul 3, 2013 at 3:00 AM By DIANE DIETZ Posted Jul. 3, 2013 @ 12:01 am Updated Jul 3, 2013 at 3:00 AM » Social News EUGENE — Football fans driving toward Autzen Stadium this fall will see a medieval-style stone wall running along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard until it meets a six-story, obsidianlike outcropping that is the new University of Oregon Football Operations Center. As fans drive along — depending on the light — they'll see the dark new building eclipsing the giant yellow "O" on Autzen Stadium that for years has branded the sports complex. "Architects don't leave a lot of things to chance. They probably were very cognizant of the fact that (the O) would get obscured," said Randy Nishimura, a Eugene architect and devoted Ducks fan. "It's Darth Vaderish Death Star. It's this ominous or intimidating dark empire that Oregon has created." What is the image-conscious Phil Knight — the Nike co-founder whose money is behind all the work — his architect Gene Sandoval and the UO football program trying to project with the expanded and revamped complex that construction crews are pushing to complete as the football season approaches? Dominance? Impenetrability? And how does that fit the winningest football program in the Pac-12 since 2010? Those questions will come to the fore this summer as the buildings near completion — in time for the Aug. 31 season opener against Nicholls State. The change to the Autzen complex is radical. "It's going to be very similar to the federal courthouse," UO architecture professor Michael Fifield said, referring to the metal-clad structure that opened on the edge of downtown Eugene in 2006. "It's going to be something people are going to talk about." Architects certainly are talking about it. The basalt wall along MLK Boulevard is one of the most striking elements. It's 3 feet thick and made up of stacks of columnar basalt. On the west end it's 61/2 feet tall, stepping up to a dozen feet high at the east. There's not a chink anywhere for the public to glimpse the practice fields that lie behind it. The "long, massive black basalt wall leads the eye towards the über-geometry of the building, as it appears to be an obsidian outcropping resting on the bedrock foundation of the football program," Eugene architect Paul Dustrud said. The new operations center consists of two buildings — joined with a double-decker sky bridge — and they appear to be made of black, shiny rectangular blocks. Their black glass is a throwback to the '70s and '80s. "It was a fad or a trend back then to have a sleek and uniform appearance," Nishimura said. Today it's "almost a video game mentality. "Oregon has become known as a program that's intimidating and sleek." The designers created a cohesive motif, Dustrud said, by painting the adjacent Moshofsky and Casanova centers black; until recently, they were light-colored and adorned with green O's. Last week, workmen in cherry pickers hung black metal grilles — all fashioned with tiny O's — all over the blackened buildings. "A little elitist" While eye-catching to people driving or walking by, there remains a hush of secrecy over the complex. Athletic Department officials decline to say anything about the new buildings going up around their ears. Phil Knight's Phit Too company leased the site from the university for the duration of construction, and he has pledged to donate the buildings to the UO when construction is done. Just how much Knight is spending on the work is unclear, although a figure of $68 million often is quoted. "There will be a media availability when the football operations building opens in early August," spokesman Andy McNamara said. The coaches' offices in the new building are four stories high. Sandoval has said that he was thinking of a "cloister" concept. Under former head coach Chip Kelly, practices were closed; he disclosed little about player injuries and often was reluctant to talk to reporters. Players say they must get department approval before saying anything to the news media. The new construction seems to reflect and intensify that black-ops approach. From the sidewalk in front of the "teaching box" building, black glass obscures the view inside, except for the flicker of a winged O across an enormous video screen inside. Coach Mark Helfrich will be stationed in the master sky suite, six stories up, with a commanding view of the Autzen complex. "It does feel like it's a little elitist," said Will Dixon, architect and president of the American Institute of Architects of Southwestern Oregon. "It's like if you are in the club, then you can get to the nice rooms up there." It reminds Brian Libby, an architecture blogger and author of "The University of Oregon Football Vault," of the design of Nike's headquarters in Beaverton. There, a berm obscures the public's view of the company's "beautiful architecture," Libby said. "When you're standing outside, you know there are beautiful buildings there, but you feel like it's turning its back to the community. "The Football Operations Center can be beautiful and very environmentally impressive," Libby said. "I hope it won't seem like a castle that's telling its neighbors across the street or down the street to keep their distance." "Some pimpin' facilities" The new center targets many audiences, including talented football prospects who come to visit the UO before deciding where they will attend college. And who better knows the taste of teenage males than Nike? "Recruits will see the ambition that building communicates," Libby said. "This is a complex that aspires to demonstrate that Oregon is at the top of the top when it comes to football programs and their facilities." "It's strange to think of building a multimillion-dollar building like this so 17-year-olds will be impressed. But at the same time, if you're going to compete at the high levels of college football, this is the arms race that you sign up for." Check YouTube to see how football players like the Knight-built facilities, and especially the video titled "The University of Oregon Has Some Pimpin' Facilities." (Beware, however, of the rap sound track that features language some might find objectionable.) Dustrud likes the look. "Some people may say that it is too imposing. But I would say that on the scale of the work — in relation to the rest of the facilities and stadium — it is inspiring and not particularly out of scale, especially when the new forest flanking the northern slope of Autzen is installed," he said. Part of Knight's plan is indeed to build a forest on that slope, called Zen North. The forest will feature hundreds of trees. Workmen have finished pouring three broad new stairways, on the east, north and west sides of Autzen Stadium. Brooks are set to babble over moss-covered stones along the stairs. Building an empire Libby, who counts the Star Wars movies among his favorites, said the design of the football center might signal a change in narrative for the Ducks. In the movies, Luke Skywalker was a fighter in the rebellion against the repressive empire. "I always think of Oregon as the rebels, the underdogs," said Libby, watcher of games at Autzen since childhood. "Coming on the heels of so much success under coach Kelly, this building does give us reason to ask: Are we the rebels anymore? Or are we becoming the empire?" The Ducks and their fans have long sported an aggressive streak. The new soccer-lacrosse stadium next to Autzen features black garbage cans. On the top is a logo that features a big green Duck tossing a small, dead or unconscious orange Beaver into a trash can. The ring around the logo says "Trash. Garbage. Beavers." Football fans turn up at Autzen Stadium wearing black "Sons of Oregon" sweat shirts, a take on the popular cable television series about a violent motorcycle gang. The logo features the Duck as the grim reaper, complete with scythe. As interpreted by some national observers, the Oregon Ducks are going from underdogs to excess. Oregon players "enjoy every imaginable creature comfort, technological advance and fashion indulgence," ESPN said. "Nobody needs a 130,000-square-foot football operations center; that is more than 1,500 square feet per scholarship player," Sports Illustrated wrote. "But you better believe that recruits will love it." As part of the current upgrade, the football Ducks have for the first time a full-size, outdoor synthetic practice field. With little fanfare, other Duck athletic teams have gained two new buildings on the Autzen perimeter. One was the PK Player Development Center, an indoor artificial turf field practice area and outdoor batting cages for baseball. The women's soccer and lacrosse teams got a 1,000-seat stadium named for Randy and Susie Papé and paid for by Phil and Penny Knight. The 12,000-square-foot structure features maple lockers for each player, and a team room with 55-inch flat screen televisions and leather easy chairs for every athlete. A larger-than-life rendering of Puddles, the Duck Mascot, graces the team room's wall. In one of its pupils, subtle images of Phil and Penny Knight are reflected. "The ring is the thing" Fans are waiting to see what Knight does next for the Ducks. Do the new, expansive, forested corridors of egress from the north side of Autzen Stadium presage the long-anticipated major expansion, adding up to 12,000 seats to the 54,000-capacity stadium (now 60,000 counting standing room)? Will the softball team get a facility to match its national standing? Will there be an indoor track? What else will fit at the 72-acre Autzen area? "There's actually a lot of open space over there," Fifield said. Knight is rich enough and powerful enough to get it done. Last year, he persuaded Gov. John Kitzhaber to call the Legislature into special session to pass a measure financially benefiting Nike. He's chairman of a company that has $25 billion a year in sales. His own wealth tops $14 billion, according to Forbes magazine. The Knights' largesse has helped make several Duck programs into perennial national title contenders, Nishimura said. "His whole goal, probably, is to set Oregon up so it's bigger than any one person. It's one of the blue bloods of the college football world — like an Alabama or a Michigan or Ohio State." More traditional Duck fans, less enamored with Nike, might set their qualms aside, just as they did when the UO turned the Ducks' green-and-yellow uniforms into varying shades of gray and black. "The blackness of the Ducks, be it their uniforms or now in their buildings, is going a little bit too much in the intimidating direction for me," Libby said. "I'd rather see a transparent building and green-and-yellow uniforms. But if you ask me what I want most of all, it's a national championship. "The ring is the thing." By DIANE DIETZ MailTribune.com By DIANE DIETZ Posted Jul. 3, 2013 @ 12:01 am Updated Jul 3, 2013 at 3:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. fantasy football Under-the-Radar Players Guaranteed to Thrive Nov. 22, 2014 at 1:53 pm Which Risky Fantasy Moves Will Work in Week 12? 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