Jane Saunders Stadium is coming to the University of Oregon.
Oregon is hosting NC State in a three-game series for the NCAA Super Regionals starting Thursday. Come Saturday, it will be the last time Howe Field hosts the Ducks.
“We are so blessed as a program to be given a new stadium,” Oregon shortstop Nikki Udria said. “It’s a new era for us and it’s cool that this stadium helps continue what we started to build the last couple of years.”
Construction is set to begin right after the Super Regionals and the goal is for Jane Saunders Stadium to be ready for Oregon to play on once the 2016 season is underway – roughly a nine-month period.
Much of the financing for the stadium came from Robert Saunders, 1949 graduate from the University of Oregon and member of the football team. Saunders donated the money in honor of his late wife, Jane, a member of the 1950 class of Oregon and former cheerleader.
The couple met when they were students at the University of Oregon.
“I think it’s amazing that we have people that support us and the program,” Oregon catcher Janelle Lindvall said. “To be given a donation of that amount is incredible and it really says a lot about the culture at Oregon and how far the softball program has come.”
Some of the major upgrades for the stadium will be a new, state-of-the-art press box that will seat around 14 people. There will also be locker rooms for both teams as well as a dirt infield and turf outfield.
Although the new stadium features a much more modernized and sleek look, something accustomed to Oregon athletics, there will only be 1,500 seats available. That’s roughly the same amount the Ducks currently have when adding bleachers in the outfield to accommodate NCAA Tournament play.
One of the biggest worries that coaches and players have with the new stadium is the crowd noise and how that will come in to play.
Oregon head coach Mike White said he, “loves”, the feel of Howe and the advantage it gives the team.
“We hope that the new stadium will have the same atmosphere,” he said, “the same close-to-the-plate feel that makes it electric here.”
The way Howe Field is currently constructed, the fans are right on top of the action and that allows the players to engage with them during the games. Many of the off-field chants come from the players yelling with the fans and that makes Howe Field dangerously loud for opposing teams.
BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said after the Cougars’ 8-0 loss to Oregon on Thursday that the atmosphere at Howe is unbelievable for an opposing team.
“The fans are smart fans and they’re right on top of you, making it very loud,” he said. “There’s a definite home-field advantage here.”
Howe Field has been in existence at Oregon since 1936 when it was first the host site of the Oregon baseball team. In 1987, the field was reconstructed to become the home of the softball team and that’s where it’s stood ever since.
For Oregon pitcher Cheridan Hawkins, it’s sad to see a piece of history go. Still, Hawkins is excited for a new era at Jane Saunders Stadium next season.
“Howe Field is a very historic place,” Hawkins said. “For me, this is history and I’m sad to see it go but at the same time, I’m really happy to have something new for the program because it’s only going to help Oregon softball.”
Follow Ryan Kosetcka on Twitter: @Ryan_Kostecka