A quarter century ago, UO President Dave Frohnmayer and megadonor Phil Knight dreamt of making the Oregon Ducks a national brand. Both believed a national branding effort would change the fortunes of the university and its host city. They were not wrong. The results are showing up in unexpected ways.
The University of Oregon was uniquely hamstrung at the time. Puddles the mascot was deemed to be too similar to Disney’s Donald Duck. To avoid copyright infringement, a deal was struck with Walt Disney himself. Puddles could remain our mascot, so long as his image wasn’t used for promotional purposes outside the state of Oregon.
Remember the creepy Robo-Duck that Nike foisted on fans around that same time? The original plan was to sideline Puddles completely for a futuristic duck that looked at home in a Marvel superhero movie. Disney, Nike, and the university worked out their differences another way and the Oregon-only promotion shackles were removed.
Meanwhile, our sports teams needed to win to draw national attention. TV deals were struck to get the Ducks in front of New York City decision-makers. A billboard went up in Times Square, promoting our quarterback for the Heisman Trophy. New practice facilities were built. Autzen Stadium was expanded. Hayward Field was replaced.
Good coaches were hired and more became interested. With astonishing speed, coaches began recruiting talent wherever they found it. The Oregon Duck brand blazed the trail.
Attracting talent has not been limited to athletics. Professors and administrators have likewise been recruited from around the world. Enrollment has surged. Businesses and landlords near the university have thrived, especially before the pandemic scrambled every social and economic equation.
Real estate investments are changing the face of our city in unexpected ways. We’ll discuss the towers being built along Franklin Boulevard and planned for 13th Avenue in a moment. Let’s not overlook the other end of the market.
Incoming Football Head Coach Dan Lanning assembled his new coaching staff very quickly. Why? Because everybody takes the call if it concerns the Oregon Ducks. A dozen arriving coaches are now shopping for huge houses with four-car garages and basketball hoops. All at once!
The student housing towers are being built with out-of-state money. Most of these Real Estate Investment Trust investors have never been to Eugene and will never meet a renter. They took the call because they knew the brand.
The Oregon Ducks brand is influencing investors the same way it attracts running backs. It’s not supply and demand. It’s name recognition, and it started with that New York billboard.
Are we in danger of being overbuilt? Not exactly. We can avoid future blight if city council requires resilient building design. Extra wires in the walls and modified firewall construction standards will add a bit to construction expenses, but will ensure the housing can adapt to our future needs.
We should welcome student housing complexes that can later be inexpensively converted to family apartments. As we’ve seen, no one can picture perfectly what things will look like 25 years from now.
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Don Kahle (fridays@dksez.com) writes a column each Friday for The Register-Guard and archives past columns at www.dksez.com.
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