Oregon softball team

Oregon catcher Janelle Lindvall tags out an Arizona State runner last season at Howe Field. The stadium will be torn down after the 2015 softball season to make way for new Sanders Stadium.

(Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian)

EUGENE -- Oregon's search to find the best site for its new softball stadium has led to a familiar place.



Athletic director Rob Mullens announced Wednesday that the new Jane Sanders Stadium will be built in time for the 2016 season on the same plot of land where Howe Field — Oregon softball's home stadium since 1987 — already sits.



"Having the hills in the background and having the on-campus feel and having students drop by and take part in the games, it's great," head coach Mike White said Wednesday by phone. "It's a great blend of the old and the new."



Because Howe Field's site is hemmed in on three sides by streets or buildings, White said the playing field will be pushed away from University Street on the west to make extra room for the complex, which is expected to seat 1,500, with a capacity of around 2,500.



The site and opening date stand as important milestones for the stadium project, which was long-desired at Oregon because of prominent limitations that include obstructed view seating from above-ground dugouts and lack of permanent restrooms.



But it got a major boost on June 7, when lumber businessman and 1949 Oregon alumnus Robert Sanders donated $10 million to name the stadium after his late wife, a 1950 UO alumnus.



Howart S. Wright will be the project's general contractor and Chris Hartson its senior project manager, UO also announced. SRG, an architectural firm with offices in Portland and Seattle, will design the park. It has previously designed the stadiums for the Hillsboro Hops and University of Washington baseball program.



"We are pleased to build Jane Sanders Stadium on campus where so many memories have been made," Mullens said in a news release. "Following the multi-step university approval process, our team is anxious to join forces with SRG and Howard S. Wright to begin the journey toward another innovative athletics facility that will enhance the student-athlete experience, create a new fan experience and appropriately honor Jane Sanders."



With the Sanders' financial backing, the Ducks have compiled a stadium "wish list."



"It's not only for fan experience but it's also going to be a training facility we'll use a lot more than just games," said White, a two-time Pac-12 coach of the year who led Oregon to its first No. 1 ranking last season.



"When you look at that and say what do we need, we need a player development center indoors, a place where we can have batting cages, and for recruiting a place we can have a great team room and space that screams 'Oregon softball.'"



Howe Field was originally constructed adjacent to the south side of McArthur Court as a baseball stadium 78 years ago before Oregon disbanded the program in the 1980s and renovated the stadium for softball. Its listed capacity is 1,700, though close to 3,000 filled Howe when Oregon hosted two regionals in the NCAA Tournament last May, thanks to temporary outfield seating.



The park will be dismantled after the 2015 UO softball season to make way for Sanders Stadium.



In the spring, when White campaigned for a new stadium amid Oregon's run toward a second Women's College World Series trip in three seasons, Oregon officials considered fewer than a half-dozen locations that included ground near Autzen Stadium, across the Willamette River, in order to keep players close to weight rooms and treatment centers.



At the time, UO vice president of planning and real estate Chris Ramey said of keeping a new stadium on campus: "You just never say never, but you can't help but think that's a pretty attractive location for academics."



Ramey wasn't available for an interview Wednesday afternoon, but White said that though the southern edge of campus will retain its academic footprint — McArthur Court's usage remains a point of campus discussion — he's glad to keep softball there, too.



"The biggest issue is parking, I suppose," White said. "When you look at Mac Court they got 10,000 fans in there and they found parking OK. With a capacity of 1,500 seats and up to 2,500 there should be an ability to park. It won't be as convenient as it could be on the other side (of the river) but the pluses really outweigh the minuses. From what's outlined, it should have a great feel to it."



Along with getting a new stadium, White also pushed for increased salaries for his coaches last spring, a goal that has since been met, he said Wednesday. In his first four seasons at UO, three assistants had been hired away, and White hoped the administration would make his staff's pay competitive with other top-10 programs.



White said his assistants' earnings are now comparable with their peers, though the contracts, requested in June by The Oregonian, have yet to be processed by UO's office of public records.

Combined with the news of the new stadium's location, White acknowledged he'll be riding a high when he heads to Southern California this weekend on a recruiting trip.

"Things are going to move real quickly from here on," White said. "It's so great."



-- Andrew Greif | @andrewgreif