Athletic Facilities
CHILES CENTER
The Chiles Center, home of Pilot basketball and volleyball, is one of the most modern athletic and convocation facilities on the West Coast.
Situated on the northern edge of campus and adjacent to Merlo Field (soccer) and Joe Etzel Field (baseball), it is a memorial to the lives of Earle A. and Virginia H. Chiles, whose highly developed senses of heritage and civic responsibility helped make the Chiles Center a reality.
Construction began May 18, 1983, and the Chiles Center opened in October 1984 with a seating capacity of 4,852. President Ronald Reagan headlined the arena's first event with a speech on Oct. 23, 1984, only three days after the dome’s dedication. The first athletic contest was held on Nov. 24, 1984 with the Pilot men’s basketball team defeating the University of the Pacific, 73-61.
The Chiles Center is home to the University of Portland athletic department. It also houses all locker rooms for Pilot athletes, the sports medicine department, weight training room, and a VIP room. A recreational running track circles the upper mezzanine and is cushioned with a urethane surface. The arena’s 2,000 theater seats can be rolled back to create an open area of 20,000 square feet on the main floor.
The Chiles Center, which annually hosts OSAA high school women's basketball and volleyball state tournaments, also has been the site for appearances by Bob Dylan, the Dalai Lama, Stephen Hawking and President George W. Bush. Portland and the Chiles Center will host the West Coast Conference Basketball Championships in 2007.
Chiles Center Facts
Ground-breaking: May 18, 1983
Dedication: Oct 20, 1984
Seating capacity: 4,852
Dome diameter: 305 feet
Dome height: 62 feet
Dome volume: Over 2,000,000 cubic feet:
Running Track: 240 meters (6.6 laps = 1 mi.)
Located: Corner of Willamette Blvd. and Portsmouth St.
MERLO FIELD AT THE CLIVE CHARLES SOCCER COMPLEX
Regarded as one of the nation’s best soccer facilities at any level, Harry A. Merlo Field was constructed in 1990. It has been the site of numerous NCAA playoff games and international matches featuring the U.S. Women’s National Team, Brazil, England and most recently Ukraine in the summer of 2005. Several national and Olympic teams have trained on the plush Merlo pitch when traveling through the region.
The Merlo Field press box contains 40 spaces for working press. It has complete transmission capabilities for print and broadcast media and includes restroom facilities. A platform on the press box roof provides an ideal vantage point for still and video camera operators.
One of Merlo Field’s claims to fame came in 1994 when it hosted the NCAA Women’s Soccer Final Four. It marked the first time that the national semifinals and final were held at a predetermined site. With a national television audience looking on, the Pilots were joined by Connecticut, North Carolina, and Notre Dame in playing the first women’s Final Four on the West Coast.
Merlo Field’s 4,892-seat capacity was stretched to the limit and then some when 5,596 fans, then the largest crowd in United States women’s soccer history, turned out for a 1992 game between Portland and North Carolina.
The addition of lights prior to the 2004 season allowed night games to be played at Merlo Field and attendance has soared during Friday night matches. During the women’s magical 2005 championship season, Portland set a new NCAA attendance record for both men’s and women’s soccer by bringing in 40,841 fans to 12 home women’s matches. The Pilots’ average attendance of 3,403 topped the nation in 2005.
The Pilot men have consistently brought in some of the biggest men’s soccer crowds in the country. The Pilots have ranked in the top 15 in home attendance in nine of the past eleven years, including the nation’s top attendance in 1996 when they averaged 2,554 fans per game.
BENEFACTORS
Harry A. Merlo, Earle M. Chiles, Patrick and Jo Becker, Maurie and Mary Clark, John and Jane Emrick, Silvio and Mary Garaventa Sr, Tom and Laurie Hacking, Ted and Boni Halton, Joseph and Judith Hanna, Allan T.J. and Lois McInnis, Robert and Marilyn Pamplin, George and Susan Swindells, Anthony and Helen Urbanek.
MERLO FIELD FACTS
- Location: Merlo Field is located at the corner of Willamette Blvd. and Portsmouth St. on the University of Portland campus in North Portland.
- Seating capacity: 4,892.
- Dimensions: 75 by 120 yards.
- Surface: Natural grass (80% rye grass/ 20% Kentucky Bluegrass).
- Direction: East and West.
- Cost: $1.2 million.
- Design: W.E. GROUP/ Architects and Planners, Portland, Ore.
- General Contractor: Brockcamp and Jaeger, Inc., Portland, Ore.
- Consultant (engineering and design): Don Hogan and Associates, Seattle, Wash.
MERLO FIELD LIGHTS
- Area of Lighting: There are six light poles on the field, with a total of 75, 1,500-watt bulbs.
- Pole Count: Six poles, three behind each sideline.
- Light Fixtures: Designed to contain ambient light inside the facility.
- Custom Reflector System: Provides the necessary level of spill light and glare control for individual sites on and adjacent to the playing field. Minimizes upward spill light while continuing to produce enough light to follow the flight of the ball.
- Mounting Height: 73 feet
- Cost: $223,000
- Manufacturer & Design: MUCSCO Lighting, Inc., Wilsonville, Ore.
- General Contractor: Zink Commercial, Vancouver, Wash.
- Consultant (structural): R.L. Foley and Associates, Lake Forest, Calif.
JOE ETZEL FIELD
Joe Etzel Field, previously Pilot Stadium before being renamed in the summer of 2004 in honor of former Portland athletic director and long-time head baseball coach Joe Etzel, was completed prior to the 1988 baseball season and is constructed around what is considered one of the finest natural grass surfaces in the region. The facility includes a heated, enclosed press box, batting cages, dugouts, bleachers and a concession stand. Construction in the spring of 1996 increased the stadium's capacity to 1,500. The expansion added 300 seats along the first base line and above the visitor's dugout.
The university's original baseball field was located at the area adjacent to Howard Hall. In 1958, the diamond was moved across campus to the site where the Earle A. & Virginia H. Chiles Center now stands. The current field, originally known as Farley Field, was constructed in 1967 with the stadium structure added 21 years later.
The outfield distances are 350 feet to the left field fence, 390 to center field and 340 to right field.
The stadium, adjacent to the Chiles Center, is located on Portsmouth Street just west of Willamette Boulevard.
Joe Etzel Field Facts
Seating Capacity: 1,500
Outfield Distances: 350 Left 390 Center 340 Right
First Game: 2-23-88 (vs. George Fox) W 15-1
All-time Record: 180-199 (.475) 20 seasons
Single-game Attendance: 957 (vs. WSU) 4-13-91
Season Attendance: 6,366 (335 average) 1990
| Wins in a Season: |
15 (15-6) 1988 |
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(15-4) 1991
(15-6) 1992 |
Winning Percentage: .789 (15-4) 1991
Winning Streak: 10 (1989-90)
Losing Streak: 9 (2004)
Andy Pienovi Hitting Facility
- Completed Summer 2005
- 50' x 120'
- Fully lighted and heated
- Five batting cages
- Three pitching mounds
- Training space for defensive drills
- Turf flooring
- Photo Gallery
In honor of former Pilot pitcher and longtime area high school coach and professional scout, the University of Portland named its indoor hitting facility the Andy Pienovi Hitting Facility. Pienovi, who pitched for the Pilots in the 1940’s before graduating in 1947, coached at Dufur High School from 1947-49. He then coached at Columbia Prep for six years, where he coached future longtime UP Director of Athletics and baseball coach Joe Etzel. Pienovi earned his Master’s Degree from UP in 1960, while coaching at Jefferson High School from 1955-70. Pienovi went on to become a pro scout for almost 40 years.
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